Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Descriptive Information

Title

The wonders of geology

Description

As the frontispiece for Gideon Mantell’s Wonders of Geology (1839), John Martin drew a geohistorical scene that depicts the ancient reptilian iguanodon, which Mantell had recently discovered in the Weald region of southeast England. This illustration is based in part on direct field observations and reconstructions from the rock record of the iguanodon’s ancient environment, as we can see depicted by the estuary in the background. But the image sacrificed a degree of scientific accuracy (Mantell had accurately identified iguanodons as herbivores) to create a more dramatic scene that would boost book sales. The dual objectives of this sketch show the power of geohistory in the early 19th century to both retrodict former worlds and capture the public imagination.

Call Number (click link to view in library catalog)

550 M31W1839

Authors

Mantell, Gideon Algernon

Full Title

The wonders of geology; or A familiar exposition of geological phenomena; being the substance of a course of lectures delivered at Brighton.

Date

1839

From the Exhibit

In Search of Lost Time: Fossils and the Record of Previous Worlds

Publisher

Rolfe and Fletcher

Location

London

Language

English

Rights

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Type

Text

Edition

3rd edition

Medium

Book

Bibliographic Citation

Mantell, Gideon. Wonders of Geology. London: Rolfe and Fletcher, 1839.