Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Fossil Organic Remains of Mammalia and Aves contained in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England

FIRST EDITION, vii, [1], 391, [1], 10 lithograph plates, wood engraved, crest of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, two library stamp to text leaf, occasional light foxing, original cloth boards, spine worn, 4to, London, Richard and John E. Taylor, 1845

A scarce work by Sir Richard Owen. Owen was the leading comparative anatomist and palaeontologist of his time, best known for coining the word dinosaur. The work is a catalogue of the fossil remains of mammals and birds in the collection of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, where Owen held the position of Hunterian Professor of Comparative Anatomy from 1836. Owen gives each of the fossils a vivid description, comparing the prehistoric species to their contemporaries, or providing details vital for understanding the characters and resemblance of previously unknown species. Some of the fossil specimens were collected by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle and presented by hi to the Royal College of Surgeons.

This collection was illustrated in the twenty-four lectures given by Richard Owen annually until 1855. The lectures formed the basis of the work “Anatomy and Physiology of the Vertebrates”. Through his lectures and written work he became known to the public as one of the leading scientific men of their time.

After a failed campaign to convert the collection into a National Museum, he resigned in 1856 and undertook to act as Keeper of the Natural History Collection at the British Museum, which later became the Natural History Museum, London.