Artefact of the month - February 2011 Macropus parryi

Tate Britain have borrowed the original watercolour on which this print is based. It is being displayed at Tate Britain Watercolour Exhibition from 16 February until 21 August 2011.

The painting is by Edward Lear who is better known for his nonsense poems. He was a renowned zoological artist and we have previously featured some of his other works as `Artefacts' including Artefact of the month - October 2010. Edward Lear's `Parrots' in October 2010 and a watercolour of an Asian lion Artefact of the month - March .

This print is featured in Volume 1 of the Transactions of the Zoological Society accompanying an article by E.T. Bennett describing a new species of kangaroo, Macropus parryi. The full reference to this article is:

BENNETT, E. T. (1835), Some Account of Macropus Parryi, a hitherto undescribed Species of Kangaroo from New South Wales. The Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, 1: 295–300. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1835.tb00627.x Publication History Issue published online: 6 JUL 2010 Article first published online: 6 JUL 2010 Communicated December 23, 1834 The article can be viewed Link to PDF of this document for Journal of Zoology subscribers

Tate Britain have also borrowed Volume III of John Gould's A monograph of the Trochilidae, or family of humming-birds, London : published by the author, 1849-61 in five volumes plus supplement, this has been featured as Artefact of the month - August 2007 and a virtual copy can be viewed in the Blackburn Pavilion at ZSL London Zoo.