C008/7982 Rights Managed
530 pixels on longest edge, watermarked
Request/Download high-res file
Uncompressed file size: 50.0MB
Downloadable file size: 5.3MB
Credit: PAUL D STEWART/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Caption: Copperplate engraving with hand colouring by J. Chapman 1806 after engraving by Seba in his "Treasury of Natural History" (1734). In 1735 a young Linnaeus visited Hamburg. While there he inspected the famous stuffed 'seven headed hydra' held by the Burgomeister. It had originally been looted from a Church by Count Konigsmark in 1648. Seba believed it was a real animal (as did most) and made this illustration. But Linnaeus saw it was a fake. The jaws and claws were of weasels, the body covered in glued snake skins. He assumed the hydra was made by the monks of the original church as a representation of the apocalyptic beast rather than the Greek mythological animal. When Linnaeus tactlessly made the fraud public, the value of the animal (which the Burgomeister had tried to sell to various 'Cabinet of Wonders' collectors) collapsed. Linnaeus feared an angry response and left Hamburg.
Release details: Model release not required. Property release not required.
Keywords: 18th century science, albert seba, albertus seba, animal, artwork, beast, chimaera, composite, fake, fantastic, fantasy, fraud, hydra, illustration, linnaeus, monster, monstrosity, myth, mythology, seba, taxidermy
High-resolution files: Approved customers can download high-resolution files directly from the site. A licence fee will be charged for the images used in your project.
