History of four-footed beasts and serpents

Topsell's The History of Four-footed Beasts (1607) and The History of Serpents (1608), were reprinted together as The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents in 1658. An eleven-hundred-page treatise on zoology, Topsell's work repeats ancient and fantastic legends about actual animals as well as reports of mythical animals. Topsell, not a naturalist himself, compiled information from earlier authorities, most notably the Historiae animalium of the Swiss scholar Conrad Gessner. Topsell's work is remembered chiefly for its detailed and vigorous illustrations, which have been widely reproduced in many contexts.