“FOR THE FOUNDING FATHERS, THE MASTODON WAS THE DINOSAUR OF THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC”: SCARCE FIRST EDITION OF WARREN’S MASTODON GIGANTEUS, 1852, WITH 26 FULL-PAGE LITHOGRAPHS AND LARGE FOLDING PLATE OF THE MASTODON GIGANTEUS

WARREN, John C. The Mastodon Giganteus of North America. Boston: John Wilson & Son., 1852. Small folio (10-1/2 by 12-1/2 inches), original blue-green cloth gilt, gilt-stamped vignette to front board, top edge gilt.

First edition of Warren’s “superb volume” on one the most famous fossil discoveries of the 19th century, the discovery of the first entire skeleton of the mastodon, a creature whose bones were “prized by the founding fathers even while they fought the Revolutionary War… the first large mammal to be officially declared extinct and, in effect, the nation’s first prehistoric monster,” with frontispiece, 25 full-page lithographs and large folding plate.

“When the American nation was founded, the mastodon was an unknown creature…. For the founding fathers, the mastodon was the dinosaur of the early American republic, the first large mammal to be officially declared extinct and, in effect, the nation’s first prehistoric monster.” Initially called the American incognitum, “the American incognitum had become a symbol of national identity… The fist-size teeth and gigantic jawbones of the American incognitum were specimens prized by the founding fathers even while they fought the Revolutionary War. Indeed, both Washington and Jefferson took time out from their wartime duties to collect these bones from the battlefields and to speculate on the mysterious beast’s identity… During his years as an American emissary in London, Benjamin Franklin received tusks and grinders from the Ohio valley and, in his correspondence, fueled speculation about the diet of the American ‘elephants… In 1781, while finishing his Notes on the State of Virginia, Jefferson gave Daniel Boone a letter to deliver to the Kentucky militia man General Clark, asking him ‘to procure for me some teeth of the great animal whose remains are found on the Ohio” (Semonin, American Monster,1-9). The discovery of the Warren Mastodon, also known as the American Mastodon, was one of the most famous fossil discoveries of the 19th century. On display at the American Museum of Natural History, this is the first entire mastodon skeleton found in the United States and remains the most complete on record. The skeleton was named after Dr. Warren, whose great interest in the field succeeded a distinguished career as a Harvard surgeon where he was best known for his pioneering use of anesthesia. “Towards the close of his life, he became interested in geology and paleontology. The skeleton of a mastodon was procured, set up in a private museum, and described by Warren in a superb volume, The Mastodon Giganteus of North America” (ANB). With letterpress title page, and engraved title page with color vignette, frontispiece, 25 full-page lithographs and large folding plate. Without rarely found dust jacket. Bookplate of A. Francis Dixon. Gift inscription: “A.F Dixon from J. G. Mar—[unclear] Xmas 1917.” Inscription on front fly: “Dublin University Philosophical Society from the Author”; small library inkstamps to verso of title pages.

Text and plates generally fresh with light scattered foxing, mild soiling to margins, front free endpaper with expert paper repair, expert restoration to original cloth. A scarce very good copy.