1928-1937. A mixed group of photographs and documents relating to the work of Vernon Edwards comprising: a typescript article titled 'Photographing Extinct Vertebrates' with pencilled notation 'Sir Wm Bragg before 10th' and covering enclosure note from Vernon Edwards dated 16th August 1930 to 'Baker'; a monochrome photograph of a tree-felling diorama with inked notation 'This appeared in the Museums Journal Feb 1939; a monochrome photograph of a coaching diorama with inked notation 'Will appear in the Museums Journal'; four monochrome photographs with fossil fern texture and advertisement; in an envelop marked 'Edwards 1937'; a monochrome photograph of a fossil fern with pencil notation 'Adiantite Hibernia from the Devonian Kiltorean Co. Kilkenny Ireland'; set of fifteen glossy flyers for the Moropus model issued by R.F. Damon & Co., London; five sets of monochrome photographs illustrating painted scenes, each with folded typescript detailing the species illustrated;monochrome photograph on card of a dinosaur, pencil notation to the reverse, signature and date 1928; pencil sketch titled 'Middle + Upper Devonian' with fish and notation '12 species 5 models'; monochrome frontispiece to the 'B.M. Guide Geology' with seascape and fish; a hand-tinted background sketch with pencilled fish; various paper sheets with calculations and draft accounts, etc.; a tracing paper image of the Virgin Mary with child; two display cards with text and a third with images of Ostracoderms; a watercolour sketch with notation to the reverse 'Preparatory sketch for the painting of the Coal Measures Scene now in Aylesbury Museum'. 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"). 531 grams total, watercolour: 50 x 103cm (20 x 40 1/2"). 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. 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 date reconstructions which were then authenticated by Dr. Bather and later by Dr. W.E. Swinton for scientific accuracy. His major work for the Museum was a series of dioramas which graced the 'Fossil Fish' gallery until the late 1970?'?s. The models proved to be very popular and many museums around the world would order them to highlight their growing and increasingly popular collections of paleontological specimens; the largest collections in the UK can now be found in Bolton Museum and the Horniman Museum, London. At this time Edward’s work would also go on to be used for cigarette cards, as well as appearing in many popular magazines, such as? ??The Illustrated London News??? and ???The Listener?,?? but it was the publication of ??The Dinosaurs: A Short History of a Great Group of Extinct Reptiles,?? by W.E. Swinton, the first ?serious d?inosaur book ever produced, that would place his work at the forefront of academic and popular imagination. Commercial production of the models was time-consuming, which made the models expensive, so very few were produced other than for museums. Being of plaster they were also fragile, so very few outside well-conserved museum collections survive undamaged. The items in this collection are a selection of original sketches? and paintings? by Vernon Edwards, master models from which moulds were taken, and stock models produced for sale by Gregory Bottley & Co. M.E. Howgate M.Sc. FLS? (Authority on Vernon Edwards) [55 No Reserve]

Fine condition.