Caption
Woodcut illustration of whale slaughter with old colouring from Gesner 'Icones Animalium' publ. Christof Foschover, Zurich, 1560. Gesner appears to derive this image partly from Olaus Magnus 'Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus' 1555 where he describes Faroes whaling/flensing. Controversially this whaling continues on the Faroes to this day. Note the curiously enlarged breasts of the whale Gesner depicts here - Gesner was one of the first naturalists to realise the cetaceans were mammals. He also does away with Magnus' whale tusks for this image.
Availability
Only inBelgium, Canada, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland