Cabinet of Natural Curiosities

"In 1731, after decades of collecting, Seba commissioned illustrations of each and every specimen and arranged the publication of a four-volume catalog detailing his entire collection, from strange and exotic plants to snakes, frogs, crocodiles, shellfish, corals, insects, butterflies and more, as well as fantastic beasts, such as a hydra and a dragon. Seba's scenic illustrations, often mixing plants and animals in a single plate, were unusual even for the time. Many of the stranger and more peculiar creatures from Seba's collection, some of which are now extinct, were as curious to those in Seba's day as they are to us now. This reproduction is taken from a rare, hand-colored original. The introduction offers background information about the fascinating tradition of the cabinet of curiosities to which Seba's curiosities belonged."

This is a fantastic book (hard cover) for a visual vamp! It weighs nearly 12 pounds with 543 pages, and many color plates of nature specimens that would be suitable for framing.
Buy two, one to read and use one use for wall decor! A bargain at amazon.com for $44.10 (each)