Mythical Beasts

by John F. Cherry (Editor), Neil Packer (Illustrator)

Mythical Beasts is a captivating and wondrous journey across the world, exploring the origins of unicorns, dragons, griffins, sphinxes and half-human creatures. This rich and colorful history spans Ancient Egypt, Africa, Mesopotamia and Imperial China, all the way to the work of Lewis Carroll and the fashionable and decorative sphinxes of the 1920s. Written by leading experts, the narrative draws on a wide variety of sources to illuminate the roles that mythical beasts have played in different cultures and show why they have retained their appeal through the ages. This new edition is printed in two colors throughout and is illustrated with 24 pages of beautiful researched images that bring together some of the world’s most incredible artistic interpretations of these beasts, from ceramics and sculpture to tapestries and oil paintings. The edition also includes newly commissioned artwork by Neil Packer; a beast to introduce each chapter and striking title-page, binding and slipcase illustrations.

Bound in printed and blocked cloth
Set in Centaur
216 pages, printed 2-colour throughout in black and teal
Title-page illustration and 5 part-title motifs
24 pages of colour plates
Metallic printed endpapers
Ribbon marker
Copper top edge
Metallic printed slipcase
10″ x 6¾″

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Mythology, Reference, Art, Dragons

216 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Ian Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Editor John Cherry has compiled a mostly-charming collection of essays and references that tell the history of mythological megafauna. For the most part it is a great read but the contributors sometimes seem to be constrained by their word limit and have either compressed their information or drawn it out overly long. A very informative read, nonetheless and this edition is fabulous to look at.

[Δημήτριος Καραγιάννης · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written, filled with lots of intriguing details that highlight perhaps unknown features regarding certain mythical creatures and their origins. One minus star because the book feels somewhat small and rushed, plus more mythical creatures of the historical past could have been included.