Wheaton College Permanent Collection

In 2009, Wheaton College accessioned the set of thirteen volumes into its permanent collection. The volumes were purchased with the Newell Bequest Fund on the grounds that they would be used as a teaching tool. The value of the volumes in an educational sense are both scientific and artistic, and thus Aldrovandi's Opera Omnia is useful addition to the Wheaton College Permanent Collection. Not only are the volumes inherently interdisciplinary, but they are also extremely rare and valuable. While some institutions have only one or a few of the volumes, it is truly remarkable that Wheaton is in possession of a complete set--even though all of the volumes are not of the same printing edition. Two of the volumes are first editions, while the rest are second or later editions. Currently, the volumes are in relatively good shape, with only a few worm holes here and there.

The printing and edition status of the set in the Wheaton College Permanent Collection is as follows: Volume I (Orinthology) 1652; Volume II (Orinthology) 1652; Volume III (Insects) 1638; Volume IV (Orinthology) 1652; Volume V (Mollusca, Crustacea, Testacea, and Zoophytes) 1654; Volume VI (Fish) 1661; Volume VII (Solid-hoofed Quadrupeds) 1648; Volume VIII (Bisulcated Quadrupeds) 1653; Volume IX (Oviparous Quadrupeds) 1663; Volume X (Serpents and Dragons) 1640; Volume XI (Monsters) 1658; Volume XII (Minerals and Mining) 1648, FIRST EDITION; Volume XIII (Dendrology) 1668, FIRST EDITION

Sources:

Accession records in collection file.

Christie's Lot Finder. http://christies.co.uk/LotFinder

http://m.christies.com/sale/lot/sale/22597/lot/5382509/p/5/from//?KSID=cb57623839944c153f51311cf6a8b374

Image courtesy of Beanerino56, under the public domain, accessed April 21, 2014.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Sunset_behind_the_chapel_at_Wheaton_College.jpg