Description
George Shaw's General Zoology
These exquisitely detailed, hand-colored prints comes from George Shaw's General Zoology and Systematic Natural History. The work was published in London in 1806. The engravers for this work were Mr. Heath and Mrs. Griffith.
George Shaw began his career as an ordained deacon and abandoned the church for of his love of natural history. He studied medicine and lectured on botany before creating his sought after natural history works. Shaw also helped found the Linnean Society of London, and was elected a member of the Royal Society.
Shaw's natural history career began during the early colonization of eastern Australia. Shaw published some of the first scientific names and descriptions for Australian animals; including the platypus, wombat, and black snake. Some of the Australian animals he found are described within the General Zoology work. Many were also named in his work with Frederick Nodder entitled The Naturalist's Miscellany.