The ZSL Library contains an extensive collection of literature concerning animals and their conservation. Many of these publications contain amazing illustrations, this is just a very small selection of images of extinct species from some of the printed books in the Library. The dodo image is depicted in an oil painting displayed in the ZSL Library.
All pre-1860 books are listed in the Library online catalogue. Our art works are in the process of being catalogued with funding from the Michael Marks Trust.
Lake Titicaca orestia, extinct c. 1950 Bolivia-Peru border
Histoire naturelle des poisons, par le baron Cuvier. Paris : Levrault, Volume 18, 1835
Warrah or Antarctic wolf, extinct c. 1876 Falkland Islands
Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes: a monograph of the Canidae, by St. George Mivart; with woodcuts, and 45 coloured plates drawn from nature by J.G. Keulemans and hand-coloured. London : Porter, 1890.
Thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, extinct c. 1933 Tasmania
The mammals of Australia, by John Gould. London : published by the author, Volume 1, [1845-]63.
Quagga, extinct c. 1883, South Africa
African scenery and animals... by Samuel Daniell, [1804-08]
Carolina parakeet, extinct c. 1914 Louisiana, USA
The birds of America, from drawings made in the United States and their territories, by John James Audubon. New York : Lockwood, 1839. Plate no. 278
Passenger pigeon, extinct c. 1914 North America
The natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, containing the figures of birds, beasts, fishes, serpents, insects and plants... together with their descriptions in English and French... by Mark Catesby. London : printed at the expense of the author, 1731-43
Savery's Dodo in a Landscape with birds and animals by Roelandt Savery, circa 1629. See whole image
