Lambe, Lawrence M. | The Cretaceous Theropodous Dinosaur Gorgosaurus

  • First edition of this important and copiously illustrated monograph that was one of the first publications to illustrate a dinosaur in non-standing positions.

    Author Lawrence Lambe (1863-1919) “was one of the first dinosaur hunters to discover the richness of the Red Deer River beds in Alberta around the turn of the century, but he was not an avid field worker, and he moved on to become Chief Paleontologist for the Geological Survey of Canada. in 1912 he commissioned the Sternberg family to collect dinosaurs for Canada, and it was Lambe’s task to sort out, name, and describe the tons of fossils that were subsequently unearthed and sent to Ottowa. A nearly complete skeleton of Gorgosaurus (now Albertosaurus), found by the Sternbergs in 1913, is the subject of the monograph... Lambe included many kinds of illustrations in his article: photographs of the field excavation, a drawing of the fossil as found, and a full skeletal restoration. But the most striking illustration is a set of four very faint pen drawings, showing life restorations of Gorgosaurus in standing, sitting, feeding, and lying positions. The drawings, done by Arthur Miles under Lambe’s direction, were among the first to show a dinosaur in other than the usual standing posture” (Ashworth, Paper Dinosaurs 36).

  • Ottowa: Government Printing Bureau, 1917.

    Octavo. Original grey wrappers printed in black. 7 engraved folding plates, 4 illustrations from photos and 38 engravings within the text. Ink stamps of the Geological Society of London to the upper wrapper and title. Ownership in stamp of William P. Ogilvie to the upper wrapper. Wrappers a little rubbed and dulled, spine panel slightly toned, hinges reinforced with tape, paper flaw to the edge of the front blank. A very good copy.