The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Digital Library

Represents the hinder parts of the pygmie in an erect posture likewise

About This Item

Title

Represents the hinder parts of the pygmie in an erect posture likewise

Subject

Pongo--anatomy & histology
Pan troglodytes--anatomy & histology
Book Illustrations

Description

Engraved by M. Van der Gucht.
After a drawing by William Cowper--Cf. Montagu, A. Edward Tyson, p. 225.
Drawing of an "orang-outang" or "pygmie" (i.e., chimpanzee) seen from the back (fig. 2).
Title from explanation of the figures.

Creator

Gucht, Michael van der, 1660-1725
Cowper, William, 1666-1709

Source

Original image in: Tyson, Edward, 1650-1708. Orang-outang (London : Printed for T. Bennett and D. Brown, and are to be had of Mr. Hunt, 1699). ZZAb 2 (Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia)
Orang-outang, Sive Homo Sylvestris, or the Anatomy of a Pygmie Compared with that of a Monkey, an Ape, and a Man by Edward Tyson, was the first published anatomy of an ape. The animal that Tyson refers to as an "orang-outang" and "pygmie" is actually most likely an African chimpanzee. Tyson used the ape's anthropoid features to establish a hierarchical relationship between monkeys, apes, and humans, foreshadowing theories of evolution and first formulating the idea of the missing link. It contains 8 folded plates engraved by Michael van der Gucht after drawings by William Cowper.

Publisher

Digitized by the Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Date

1699

Language

eng

Type

StillImage

Identifier

ZZAb_2.fig2

Original Format

1 print : engraving

Physical Dimensions

36 x 21

Citation

Gucht, Michael van der, 1660-1725 and Cowper, William, 1666-1709, “Represents the hinder parts of the pygmie in an erect posture likewise,” The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Digital Library, accessed April 18, 2024, https://cppdigitallibrary.org/items/show/254.