A new display in the Grand Gallery on the Museum’s first floor includes of some of the oldest fossils on exhibit.

The following excerpt from Natural Histories: Extraordinary Rare Book Selections from the American Museum of Natural History Library (Sterling Signature, 2012), edited by Tom Baione, the Museum Library’s director, highlights the role of rare 19th- and 20th-century monographs in advancing science. It was written by Joel L. Cracraft, chair of the Division of Vertebrate Zoology.