THE LEEDS COLLECTION OF FOSSIL REPTILES FROM THE OXFORD CLAY OF PETERBOROUGH (second hand copy)

   
THE LEEDS COLLECTION OF FOSSIL REPTILES FROM THE OXFORD CLAY OF PETERBOROUGH

By E. Thurlow Leeds

  
(Second hand copy in very good condition)

The Leeds collection of Jurassic fossil marine reptiles is unrivalled. It was made from about 1867 to 1914 when the Oxford Clay brick pits in Peterbourough were in full production and the digging of the clay was carried out by hand.

The brothers Charles and Alfred Leeds lived near the pits and acquired numerous skeletons of these giant creatures from the workmen. These they pieced together from thousands of individual bones with great skill and patience. It is an astonishing story and is recounted in this delightful little book by Alfred Leeds's son, published posthumously in 1956. 

Most of the collection was purchased by the Natural History Museum in London and consists of many type and figured skeletons of plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs and marine crocodiles. Unlike the fossils from Lyme Regis, these skeletons are preserved and mounted in three dimensions.

​​​Published by Blackwell. 1956. Hardback with dust jacket. 104 pages. Second hand copy in very good condition. Occasional black and white photographs and illustrations.
  
Click on the picture for a larger image