The Dinosaurs Of North America Marsh, Othniel Charles Natural History

An offprint of O.C. Marsh's landmark publication, which was issued as part of the Sixteenth Annual Report of the U.S. Geological Survey. Among the most prominent American scientists of the late 19th century, Marsh was a bona fide giant in the field of vertebrate paleontology. From the 1870s to the 1890s, he competed with rival paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in a period of frenzied expeditions known as the Bone Wars, which sparked the public's interest in dinosaurs, leading to continued fossil excavation in North America in the decades to follow. Among Marsh's legacies are the discovery or description of dozens of new species, influential theories on the origins of birds, and the collection of Mesozoic reptiles, Cretaceous birds, and Mesozoic and Tertiary mammals that now constitute the backbone of the collections of Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution. Imperial octavo: p. 133-414 with 84 plates and 66 figures (collated complete). Full burgundy cloth binding, with gilt titles. Previous owner's ink signature and date to the front flyleaf. Shallow chip to the fore-edge of the front flyleaf, mirroring a small scuff to the front pastedown. Mild wear to the corners and tips; else very good.