"Cats is 'dogs', and rabbits is 'dogs', and so's parrots; but this 'ere 'tortis' is a insect", a porter explains to an astonished traveler in a 19th-century "Punch" cartoon. Railways were not the only British institution to schematize the world. This book aims to capture the fervor of the Victorian age for classifying and categorizing every new specimen, plant or animal, that British explorers and soldiers and sailors brought home. As she depicts a whole complex of competing groups deploying rival schemes and nomenclatures, ...
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"Cats is 'dogs', and rabbits is 'dogs', and so's parrots; but this 'ere 'tortis' is a insect", a porter explains to an astonished traveler in a 19th-century "Punch" cartoon. Railways were not the only British institution to schematize the world. This book aims to capture the fervor of the Victorian age for classifying and categorizing every new specimen, plant or animal, that British explorers and soldiers and sailors brought home. As she depicts a whole complex of competing groups deploying rival schemes and nomenclatures, Harriet Ritvo shows us a society drawing and redrawing its own boundaries and ultimately identifying itself. The experts (whether calling themselves naturalists, zoologists, or comparative anatomists) agreed on their superior authority if nothing else, but the laymen had their say and Ritvo shows us a world in which butchers and artists, farmers and showmen vied to impose order on the wild profusion of nature. Sometimes assumptions or preoccupations overlapped; sometimes open disagreement or hostility emerged, exposing fissures in the social fabric or contested cultural territory. Of the greatest interest were creatures that confounded or crossed established categories; in the discussions provoked by these mishaps, monstrosities, and hybrids we can see ideas about human society about the sexual proclivities of women, for instance, or the imagined hierarchy of nations and races. An account of taxonomy as zoological classification and as anthropological study, this book offers a new perspective on the constantly shifting, ever suggestive interactions of scientific lore, cultural ideas, and the popular imagination.
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Add this copy of The Platypus and the Mermaid: and Other Figments of the to cart. $2.97, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The Platypus and the Mermaid: and Other Figments of the to cart. $2.97, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The Platypus and the Mermaid: and Other Figments of the to cart. $2.99, good condition, Sold by Books From California rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Simi Valley, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The Platypus and the Mermaid: and Other Figments of the to cart. $4.00, good condition, Sold by HPB-Red rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Harvard University Press.
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Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Platypus and the Mermaid: and Other Figments of the to cart. $7.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Harvard University Press.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Platypus and the Mermaid and Other Figments of the to cart. $9.00, very good condition, Sold by Prairie Archives rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Springfield, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of The Platypus and the Mermaid: And Other Figments of the to cart. $11.95, very good condition, Sold by Bluewater Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fort Gratiot, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Harvard University Press.
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Very good in very good dust jacket. Faint staining to the page edges, boards are lightly bumped at the spine ends; dust jacket has a quarter inch tear to a fore edge corner and chips to the other corners. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 304 p. Audience: General/trade.
Add this copy of The Platypus and the Mermaid: and Other Figments of the to cart. $12.00, very good condition, Sold by Turn-The-Page Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Skyway, WA, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Harvard University Press.
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Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. Harvard University Press, 1997. 2nd printing. Crisp and unmarked, NF/NF. Full red cloth binding. 288pp. Illustrations. In a very nice jacket. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 8vo-8"-9" Tall.
Add this copy of The Platypus and the Mermain and Other Figments of the to cart. $14.50, new condition, Sold by Nilbog Books rated 2.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Portland, ME, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Harvard.
Add this copy of The Platypus and the Mermain and Other Figments of the to cart. $14.95, new condition, Sold by Nilbog Books rated 2.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Portland, ME, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Harvard University.
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New in Fine jacket. 12mo-over 6¾-7¾" tall. 1st Printing. This is a New and Unread copy of the first edition (1st printing). The bottom of the dust jacket spine is very slightly ruffled. Index. Bibliography. Illustrations.
