Osborn, Henry F.; Proboscidea a Monograph of the Discovery, Evolution, Migration and Extinction of the Mastodonts and Elephants of the World. New York 1936-1942. Large quarto, 2 vols. Vol. 1 Mceritherioidea Deinotherioidea Mastodontoidea. pp. xl, 802, colored frontispiece, 12 plates 680 figures, charts and maps. Vol. 2, Stegodontoidea, Elephantoidea. pp. xxvii, 803-1675, colored frontispiece, plates 13-30 and figures, charts and maps 681-1244.
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The set is complete and in the original wine-red cloth with gold stamped cover vignette and spine titles. Light scuffing to boards, perforated stamp of St. Bernard College on title pages. Bindings are tight, text is clean with previous owners name penned at a few margins and on end sheets. In very good condition. Very rare, limited to 675 copies.
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An American vertebrate paleontologist; Osborn (1857-1935) was from a well to do, socially connected New York family. After his education at Princeton, it was his social connections which led to his being named to head the new vertebrate paleontology program at the American Museum of Natural History. It was also the social connections which brought in large financial gifts to enable the American Museum's staff to fund expeditions to obtain and exhibit vertebrate fossils, especially dinosaurs or to buy those fossils from private collectors. He led the Museum's efforts to become one of the more prominent in the world. His above monumental study is one of Osborn's most important and by far his rarest. It remains the most comprehensive study undertaken on mastodons and elephants.