Item PZ 31.1 Letter and sketch - Australian fur seal, Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus, Ludwig Becker to Frederick McCoy, 24 Jan 1859

Summary

Letter from Ludwig Becker to Frederick McCoy, Director of the National Museum of Victoria, on finding a young female Australian Fur Sea alive on Punt Road near Gardiners Creek Road, Melbourne. Becker included a sketch of the seal, and suggested that McCoy purchase the animal to complete his observations on seals. The information in Becker's letter is associated with the publication of Plate 31 in The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria by McCoy.

These notes form 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 Unfortunately, almost 90 plates in the collection remain unpublished, and hundreds of illustrations were either not completed or not printed.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

Australian Fur Seal, Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus by Ludwig Becker. Note - Ink on paper, 21cm x 34cm. Letter from Ludwig Becker to McCoy associated with the publication of plate 31 in The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria by Frederick McCoy.