Remarks on Some Fossil Impressions in the Sandstone Rocks of Connecticut River by John C. Warren, M. D.

Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854. Minor fading to spine, minor wear at top and tail. Frontispiece a bit faded as usual and with minor chipping along one edge. 8vo (231 x 141 mm). 54 pages, plus a folding photographic frontispiece, being an original salt print of a Greenfield, Massachusetts trackway slab with dinosaur tracks, executed by George M. Silsbee, and with two additional engraved vignettes in the text. Original blue cloth blocked in blind and lettered in gilt. First edition. John Collins Warren (1778-1856), surgeon and member of the Harvard Medical School faculty, performed the first operation using ether as an anesthesia (in 1846). John Warren (truncated) also collected fossil tracks, with the help of his colleagues, from the Jurassic rocks of the Connecticut River Valley. 'Remarks on Some Fossil Impressions' is based upon a talk he gave at the Boston Society of Natural History on the fossil slab depicted in the frontispiece photograph. He states in the text, "we are indebted to photography for enabling us to represent the remarkable slab from Greenfield, and its numerous objects, in a small space, yet with perfect accuracy."

This landmark book is generally considered to be the first American scientific book illustrated by a photograph and just the second American photographically illustrated book overall. Truthful Lens 181 states: "the image, generally faint, depicts a rock displaying fossil remains. Appearing shortly after the Homes of American Statesmen, this volume is the second American publication illustrated with a photograph." The photograph was made by Mr. Silsbee as stated on p. 52 (probably George M. Silsbee, active Boston, 1852-57). Truthful Lens 181; Burns. American Medical Publications with Photographs, p. 1250. (Inventory #: 409889)