Gesner's Curious and Fantastic Beasts CD-ROM and Book

by Conrad Gessner

A rich archive of woodcuts of real and imaginative beasts by some of the finest artists of their eras, compiled by a noted man of the Renaissance. Features 308 black-and-white images of mammals, insects, birds, and sea life as well as stunningly conceived and masterfully executed images of fanciful beasts. A fertile source of inspiration.

48 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 2004

About the author

Conrad Gessner (1516 - 1565) also rendered as Konrad and Gesner) was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist. Born into a poor family in Zürich, Switzerland, his father and teachers quickly realised his talents and supported him through university, where he studied classical languages, theology and medicine. He became Zürich's city physician, but was able to spend much of his time on collecting, research and writing. Gessner compiled monumental works on bibliography (Bibliotheca universalis 1545–1549) and zoology (Historia animalium 1551–1558) and was working on a major botanical text at the time of his death from plague at the age of 49. He is regarded as the father of modern scientific bibliography, zoology and botany. He was frequently the first to describe species of plants or animals in Europe, such as the tulip in 1559. A number of plants and animals have been named after him.