Translated Print Title:
[Explanation of the Figure of the Chameleon]
Series/Book Title:
Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire naturelle des animaux
Publisher:
Paris: Imprimerie royale
Date(s):
1671
Artist:
Engraver:
Explication de la figure du Caméléon
A Capuchin father brought this chameleon from Egypt to France and gave it to Louis XIV. On September 20, 1668, the king had it examined by the Academy of Sciences. The reptile died on October 13 and was dissected the same day. The chapter devoted to it is by far the longest of this volume. Through observation, experiment, and reasoning, the academicians aimed to refute the many myths surrounding the chameleon since antiquity, such as the belief that it lives on air and sunlight alone.
Rare Book Division. From the library of Henry Young Jr. ’93, presented by his daughter Mrs. Richard V. Lindabury.