Born was commissioned in 1776, by Maria-Therese, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, to inventory and arrange the imperal collection that formed the foundation of the imperial museum, now the Naturhistorische Museum in Vienna. Owing to Maria-Therese's death in 1780 this volume was the only one published. Copies were issued with the plates colored or uncolored. Digital facsimile of an uncolored copy from Biodiversity Heritage Library at this link.