Description

Uncolored engraving, with a paragraph of text in Italian below. Engraving depicts a large, spouting male whale on the surface of the water, seen from the side, with three men in a boat in the foreground at right. A naval skirmish, with a cannonball depicted hanging in midair, is occurring in the background. The text below describes the whale, which was apparently seen on 18 April 1715; the text specifices that the animal was 48 feet long and 26 feet wide, with 47 teeth. Below the description is the following text, "in Pesaro, Per gli Eredi di Demetrio Degni Stamp. Cam & Ep."; this indicates that the object was published for the "heirs of Demetrio" in Pesaro, Italy. Under this is the text, "MDCCXV CON LICENZA DE SUPERIORI" (1715, with superior license [for publication]).