Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons
book by Dugald Steer
Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons is the first book in the Ologies series, written by Dugald Steer and created and published by Templar Publishing in the UK, and published by Candlewick Press in North America.
Overview
The fictional premise of the book is that it is a facsimile of a lost work originally printed in 1895 and purportedly written by a dragonologist named Dr. Ernest Drake with the current publisher being unable to determine the truth of the matter. It presents the research and findings of Dr. Ernest Drake on the dragons of the world, their biology, behavior, and history of their interactions with humans. The book is lavishly illustrated and contains a number of smaller, additional texts and tactile "specimens" such as dragon scales, dragon wing membrane, and dragon dust.
Format
This book, like the other books in the Ologies series, is assigned a fictional "author" who then acts as the book's narrator. Dr. Ernest Drake is the fictional author and owner of the original Complete Book of Dragons. Real-life author Dugald Steer is the creator of the Drake character and the writer of this and several other books in the series.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons” as book by Dugald Steer. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as book by Dugald Steer. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15076301. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1895.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons primary sources, Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons archive and Dragonology research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.