4to (314 x 240 mm). 12 lithographed plates with hand-coloring. Original cloth-backed paper-covered boards, letterpress label to upper cover (some light soiling and wear). Provenance: "Professor Owen," presumably Richard Owen (1804-1892), English biologist, comparative anatomist and paleontologist (presentation inscription from the author's widow). 

FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY, inscribed by Gray's widow: "Professor Owen F.R.S. from the Author's Widow 1872." Owen was appointed Hunterian professor at the Royal College in 1836, and became superintendent of the natural history department of the British Museum in 1856. He notably coined the word "Dinosauria," meaning "terrible reptile" or "fearfully great reptile." Known for his remarkable gift for interpreting fossils, Owen wrote Part I of the Zoology of the Voyage of the H. M. S. Beagle, to which George Robert Gray also contributed (see lot ###). A FINE ASSOCIATION COPY.