Natural History of Victoria. Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria; or, figures and descriptions of the living classes of the Victorian indigenous animals

Melbourne : Robert S. Brain, 1885 – 1890. Two volumes octavo, in two non-matching fine bindings, complete with all 20 Decades, 199 lithographic plates (including one double folding plate), mostly chromolithographed, some with additional hand colouring; Volume 1 (the first ten Decades) in elaborately gilt-decorated full crushed red morocco, gauffered gilt edges, gilt dentelles, silk endpapers; Volume II (the second ten Decades) in half crushed morocco, lettered in gilt, marbled boards, edges and endpapers; each volume a handsome one in itself, but together forming the complete set of McCoy’s Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria.

Two exquisite volumes which contain all the published Decades of McCoy’s grand unfinished project to document the natural history of Victoria. The original artworks are held by Museums Victoria.

‘The Prodromus was an enormous undertaking, by Museums Victoria’s foundation director, Sir Frederick McCoy. He ambitiously aimed to describe all animals native to Victoria, covering all faunal groups, except birds which had already been amply covered by John Gould. Released between 1878 and 1890, the Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria included illustrations and text on 447 individual species. He commissioned many of the greatest scientific artists and lithorgraphers of the colonial period such as Ludwig Becker, John James Wild and Arthur Bartholomew. McCoy died without completing his grand project, and the collection contains a further 250 species printed but not published.’ – Museums Victoria https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/17279