Research Catalog
Imaginary animals : the monstrous, the wondrous and the human
- Title
- Imaginary animals : the monstrous, the wondrous and the human / Boria Sax.
- Author
- Sax, Boria.
- Publication
- London : Reaktion Books, 2013.
- ©2013
- Supplementary Content
- Table of contents
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1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person. | Text | Use in library | JFF 14-26 | Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315 |
Details
- Description
- 278 pages : illustrations (some color); 26 cm
- Summary
- Medieval authors placed fantastic creatures in the borders of manuscripts, since they mark the boundaries of our understanding. Tales throughout the world generally place fabulous beasts in marginal locations. According to apocalyptic visions of the Bible, they will also proliferate as we approach the end of time. Because they challenge our conceptual powers, fantastic creatures also seem to exist at the limits of language. Legends tell us that imaginary animals belong to a primordial time, before we had encompassed the world in names, categories and elaborate conceptual frameworks. This richly illustrated book shows how, despite their liminal role, dog-men, mermaids, and many other imaginary creatures are socially constructed through the same complex play of sensuality and imagination as "real" ones. It traces the history of imaginary animals from Palaeolithic art to the Harry Potter stories. These figures help us psychologically by giving form to our amorphous fears as "monsters", as well as embodying our hopes as "wonders."
- Subjects
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 257-268) and index.
- Contents
- The true unicorn -- Animal encounters -- What is an 'imaginary animal'? -- Every imaginary animal is real -- Monsters -- Wonders -- Creatures of fire and air -- Creatures of earth -- Shape-shifters -- Mechanical animals.
- Call Number
- JFF 14-26
- ISBN
- 9781780231730
- 1780231733
- OCLC
- 853452431
- Author
- Sax, Boria.
- Title
- Imaginary animals : the monstrous, the wondrous and the human / Boria Sax.
- Publisher
- London : Reaktion Books, 2013.
- Copyright Date
- ©2013
- Type of Content
- textstill image
- Type of Medium
- unmediated
- Type of Carrier
- volume
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 257-268) and index.
- Connect to:
- Research Call Number
- JFF 14-26