Extremely rare first edition of a paleontological work reporting the uncommon discovery of the fossil remains of a Eurasian elk in the parish garden in Maslów in Silesia, an historical region in southwestern Poland. The Eurasian elk and American moose are two subspieces of the species Alces alces, while what is called an elk in America is one of several species of deer, genus Cervus. In May 1729, Leonard David Hermann (1630-1736), pastor of Máslow, found the remains of the animal in an embankment that normally turned up fossilized mussels, snails and other small species. Hermann explains his discovery by answering several questions, resulting in an elaborate description of the bones, antlers and other fossil remains, explaining why he thinks they belong to an elk and trying to determine whether its remains could still be of any medical or mechanical use. A second edition appeared in 1731. The present first edition is extremely rare. We could only trace two copies in WorldCat and the present copy is also the only copy ever offered for sale, as far as we could find.
Some browning and some occasional spots, but overall in good condition. An extremely rare paleontological work on the discovery of a prehistoric Eurasian elk. Poggendorff I, col. 1077; VD18 10191542 (1 copy); WorldCat (2 copies).