| Description | Letter, dated June 1853 and written from Saint Petersbourg [St Petersburg, Russia] is addressed 'Sir'. No further information about the recipient is given but a reference to him being the author of 'Odontography' indicates that he is Richard Owen. More details of the author of the letter is found at the foot of the letter: 'Monsieur Le Colonel Kiprianoff, Chef de la premiere section du Departement de voies de Communication, pres du pont Ismaloff, Saint Petersbourg'.
A lengthy letter which begins 'Your great scientific merit and well-known European reputation, have inspired me with so much admiration', the author refers to his 'Geognostic exploitations in the South-West basin of the central region of Russia' from where he has made a large collection of 'the remains Saurien'. He is having difficulty in identifying some of the teeth he has acquired and although he has access to various reference books, other published works are not available to him in St Petersburg. He itemises a number of books with a request to Owen to send them to him. The final part of the letter includes a description of his own collection, with particular reference to two species of Pleosaurus and he encloses a sketch of the tooth of this animal. |