Beschreibung:

NATURAL HISTORY - EXTINCT CEPHALASPIS FISH MODELS WITH SKETCHES BY VERNON EDWARDS Circa 1930 A pair of surface-treated plaster models of Cephalaspis; three monochrome photographs of the models on glossy card stock, one with notation to the reverse 'Hemicyclaspis muschisoni (Egerton) natural size 8 ins' and 'British Museum Natural History' stamp, one marked 'another view of Cephalaspis salweyi Egerton natural size 14 ins' and similar stamp; a two preparatory sketches of the head and general view; pamphlet A Catalogue of Plaster Cast Models of Extinct Animals. 211 grams total, models: 18.5-20.5cm (7 1/4 - 8"). [8, No Reserve] Condition Fair condition; one with plaster repair to the tail one with fracture to the lateral fin and tail with exposed metal armature. Provenance From the historic collection of Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd; acquired by Percy Bottley of Gregory, Bottley & Co. in the 1930s; formerly from a historic natural history art collection, the artistic work of Palaeontologist, Commander Vernon Edwards. Literature See Swinton, Dr William Elgin, Monsters of Primeval Days, London, 1931; see also, same author, The Dinosaurs - A Short History of a Great Group of Extinct Reptiles, London, 1934, wherein many of the drawings, models and dioramas created by Edwards are published, described and illustrated (the author at the Natural History Museum, London, 1924-1961, later Director of Life Sciences, Royal Ontario Museum, Canada, died 1994). Footnotes Vernon Edwards is credited as being one of the most talented and influential dinosaur model makers of the 20th century. His work has appeared in museums and galleries around the world; it was a major influence on movie producers and early special effects creators, particularly when films such as ​ ​The Lost World​ ​ and ​ ​King Kong​ ​ began to showcase dinosaurs as part of the increasingly popular ‘monster movies’ of the 1920​'​s and 30​'​s. Edwards was born in 1891 into a naval family and attended Weymouth College. In 1914 he joined the navy and served throughout World War One; after the war he found it difficult to adjust to civilian life and, among other professions, tried his hand at farming. His greatest passion was model making, being self taught in art and anatomy, and it was whilst staying with family in Sussex in the early 1920​'​s that he met Dr F.A. Bather, Keeper of Geology at the British Museum. Dr. Bather was impressed by the detailed and accurate models that Edwards was producing and asked him to produce a series of prehistoric models for the British Museum (Natural History), now known as the Natural History Museum. Vernon Edwards was given access to the museum's collections and scientific monographs, so the models he produced were up to