Item PZD 1003 Watercolour illustration & notes - Spiny Gurnard, Lepidotrigla papilio, Hobsons Bay, Port Phillip, Ludwig Becker, 17 August 1858

Summary

Unpublished watercolour illustration and descriptive notes ön a Spiny Gurnard, Lepidotrigla papilio (Gurnard No. 9) from Hobsons Bay, Port Phillip, by Ludwig Becker, 17 August 1858. Frederick McCoy, the first Director of The National Museum of Victoria, commissioned this work, presumably for a future plate in 'The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria; Figures and descriptions of the living species of all classes of the Victoria indigenous animals'. Unfortunately, McCoy died before completing his this enormous undertaking.

Becker's illustration and 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 Unfortunately, almost 90 plates in the collection remain unpublished, and hundreds of illustrations were either not completed or not printed.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

Gurnard No. 9 by Ludwig Becker, commissioned as part of McCoy's zoological research. Illustration - pencil, watercolour and indian ink on paper, Aug 17 1858, 19cm x 23cm.