1657 MERIAN Folio SEA MONSTERS Jenny Haniver STINGRAY

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1657 MERIAN Folio SEA MONSTERS Jenny Haniver STINGRAYOriginal copper engraving 352 yrs old!Merian, MatthiasSEA MONSTERS Jenny Haniver STINGRAYFrom: Historia Naturalis..., Published in Amsterdam in 1657.FOLIO Leaf: ca 12.2 by 8.5 inches: 31 x 21.5 cmsSuperb hand coloured copper engraving.This copper engraving is ORIGINAL and 352 years old!! Upper laft a fine depiction of a MONSTER RAY. Called a both sea eagle and a flying fish, the upper right image is probably a "Jenny Haniver," a forgery made by mutilating a ray to resemble a winged sea monster with a human head. The trick worked, and Ambroise Paré recounted a second-hand tale of how a live specimen was presented to the lords of the city of Quioze. The origin of the name "Jenny Haniver" is unknown, but the first known illustration of one dates from the 16th century.John Jonston (or Johnstone), a descendant of a Scottish family, was born in Sambter, Poland. He was interested in both medicine and natural sciences, and studied at St. Andrews, Cambridge, and Leiden. He published major natural history studies, including Thaumatographia Naturalis (Amsterdam 1632), a compendium of contemporary knowledge of natural science including astronomy, paleontology, plants, animals and man. This was followed by Theatrum Universale Omnium Animalium (Frankfurt, 1650), with plates after his drawings read more

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