Iconographia plantarum fossilum. Abbildungen und Beschreibungen fossiler Pflanzen.

Wien, Kaiserliche Academie der Wissenschaften, 1852. Folio (38.5 x 27.5 cm). 56 pp.; 22 chromolithographed plates (one larger, folded). Disbound. = A richly illustrated work on fossil plants by the Austrian botanist, zoologist and palaeontologist Franz Joseph Andreas Nicolaus Unger (1800-1870). One of several richly illustrated works on this subject, which was one of Unger's fortes. The plates show plant remains as found in situ, sometimes along with insects and fish remains. "Unger is notable for proposing a theory of evolution before Charles Darwin. Unger accepted the transmutation of species. During his time his ideas were widely criticized by those who held religious views. In his book Attempt of a History of the Plant World (1852) he devoted a chapter to the evolution of plants" (Wikipedia). Published in the society's Denkschriften, vierter Band. Text and plates separate from each other. Some scattered, mostly light, foxing to the plates, otherwise very good, clean and unmarked. Stafleu and Cowan, 15610.