This is a fascinating and unlikely woodcut illustration in a book by Pierre Belon, a pioneer of comparative anatomy and one of the first naturalist-explorers!
| Comparison of a human and bird skeleton, woodcut, 1555 |
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L’histoire de la nature des oyseaux, avec leurs descriptions, & naifs portraicts. (The history and nature of birds) par Pierre Belon du Mans published in 1555.
The book itself is a remarkable achievement, it was published in French at a time when most books were in Latin and it contains 14 woodcuts depicting a variety of birds, these were based on specimens collected by Belon from markets throughout Europe. He also travelled in the Near East collecting specimens and information.
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