Vipera Ammodytes

Roma: Dalla Tipografia Salviucci, 1841. Battistelli. Color lithograph with hand-colored embellishments. Measures 15" x 10 7/8"<br/> <br/> Beautiful print of a horned viper snake, from "Iconografia della Fauna Italica Per Le Quattro Classi Degli Animali Vertebrati", published between 1832-1841. <br> <br> Carlo Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte (1803-1857) was a French biologist and ornithologist. As the nephew of Napoleon and the 2nd Prince of Canino, he was raised in Italy but moved to Philadelphia shortly after marriage, where he worked alongside Alexander Wilson, updating his seminal "Wilson's Ornithology, or History of the Birds of the United States." After his return to Europe he published "Iconografia della Fauna Italica" describing the animals of Italy, and later a similar work comparing birds he observed in Philadelphia with those in Italy. He worked closely with other prominent scientists and naturalists throughout his career, including John Edward Gray, John James Audubon, and Philipp Jakob Cretzschmar. This is a lovely example of his work.<br/> <br/>