File:The Australian Museum magazine (1921) (20163573679).jpg

Title: The Australian Museum magazine
Identifier: australianmuseum1192123aust (find matches)
Year: 1921 (1920s)
Authors: Australian Museum; Australian Museum
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: Sydney, Australian Museum
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
28 THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE.
Text Appearing After Image:
THE HAWAIIAN GROUP IN PREPARATION. The figures are shown without wigs, and the properties which are displayed with the completed group are not yet added. found. These, and similar up-to-date groups elsewhere, have a foreground which is not an exact copy of any particular spot, but is intended to give a good general idea of the sort of place where the animals live. The plants and shrubs, the rocks and soil, are imitated as closely as possible to har- monise with the actual conditions surround- ing the living animal. This foreground merges into a painted, curved background, resembling the drop-scene of a theatre, which, by a clever use of perspective, con- veys an illusion of expanse and distance, so that, when viewed from a darkened passage-way in front, the whole scene, which is illuminated from within the case, has an almost startling air of detachment. In the Australian Museum, groups of nesting birds, and some of the smaller Aus- tralian mammals, such as the platypus and the native cat. were installed years ago. These small groups, which are comparable with the habitat bird groups in the British Museum, are skilfully and artistically arranged, and are life-like representations. More recently a large case, containing a group of four lions, each a fine example of the taxidermist's art, has been provided with a scenic background of forest, plain, and hill, with here and there small lierds of zebras, antelopes, and giraffes. The foreground and the mounted lions are the work of Ward's Natural Science Establish- ment, Rochester, New York, "the god- father of all museums," which lias played an important part in the development of modern taxidermy and animal groups : the background was painted by Mr. H. R. Gallop. Within the last twelve months an xA.ntarctic group lias been added. Here, the foreground represents a low, snow-covered shore, with the seals and birds characteris- tic of these inhospitable regions; and, ex- tending away to the distance, is an ice-

Note About Images