My mastadon

My Mastodon is a story inspired by the true history of a remarkable American family, the Peales of Philadelphia. Sybilla Miriam Peale lived in the Philadelphia Museum, America's first natural history museum. Unlike the European museums of that period, it was open to all visitors. Sybilla lived with her family in a separate area of ​​the building, but was free to explore each exhibit. She was four years old in 1801 when her father, Charles Willson Peale, a noted artist, naturalist and museum curator, and her brother, Rembrandt, led an expedition to New York State to unearth the bones and tusks of the American mastodon. This was the first thoroughly organized scientific expedition in America.

The Peales discovered the skeletons of two mastodons (which were then called "mammoths"). The bones and tusks were transported to the museum. The skeletons were assembled and mounted, being the second and third such exhibits in the world. Mr Peale said the larger skeleton was 3.3 meters high, 4.5 meters long and had tusks ten meters long. It weighed more than 450 kilograms. On Christmas Eve 1801, Mr. Peale exhibited the bones of the mastodon to the general public. In 1802, Rembrandt and his brother Rubens took the smaller mastodon on a tour of Europe. Before leaving, they celebrated by having dinner under the bones of the mastodon.

Publisher : Cartego

Author : Barbara Lowell and Antonio Marinoni

Release : 2019

ISBN : 978-9975-3398-1-0

Language : Romanian

Number of pages: 32

Cover: Cardboard