Item PZ 3.2 Lithographic single colour proof - Hoplocephalus curtus, the Tiger Snake, Prahran, Melbourne, Arthur Bartholomew

Summary

Single colour proof (black) of a Tiger Snake, Notechis scutatus, from Prahran, Melbourne, illustrated by Arthur Bartholomew, with Frederick Schoenfeld as the lithographer. This work was commissioned by Frederick McCoy, the first Director of The National Museum of Victoria, for Plate 3 in 'The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria; Figures and descriptions of the living species of all classes of the Victoria indigenous animals'. McCoy referred to this species as Hoplocephalus curtus.

This plate forms part of the much larger Prodromus Collection. Many of the original illustrations and prints in the collection informed the production of The Prodromus, the first major publication of the National Museum of Victoria. Between 1878 and 1890, McCoy published his zoology 'Prodromus' as 20 parts in two volumes, with each part comprising 20 plates. Unfortunately, almost 90 plates in the collection remain unpublished, and hundreds of illustrations were either not completed or not printed.

Description of Content

Tiger Snake, Notechis scutatus, by Arthur Bartholomew. Lithographic proof (black), lithographic ink on paper, 26cm x 16cm, published as Plate 3 in The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria by Frederick McCoy.