Printable version Email this to a friend

The ZSL drawings and prints collection

F. Day – Indian Fish c1860 There are approximately 6000 original artworks in watercolour, oil and other media. The majority are watercolours which were produced in the 19th century but the collection dates from the early 17th century to the end of the 20th century. The Library also holds about 1000 separate prints and a number of sculptures of the Zoo’s famous animals.

From the Library’s rich resources a wide choice of images from across the whole spectrum of the animal kingdom may be found, but the predominant subjects in the prints and drawings collection are exotic birds, mammals and fishes.

In the 19th century the best professional zoological artists were engaged by the Society to illustrate its scientific work and their paintings form a major part of the Library’s collection.

J. Wolf – Giraffe in ZSL Gardens Equally interesting are the donations from people who worked overseas, especially in India. These men had a passion for natural history and made hundreds of paintings of the fauna. Names of some of the people whose paintings and collections are represented include: J.L. Agasse, Francis Day, B.H. Hodgson, Henry Jones, J.G. Keulemans, Roeland Savery, J. Smit and Joseph Wolf.

There are many prints of birds and mammals, the majority being 19th century hand-coloured lithographs, and those showing the human and animal connection are a reminder of the importance of animals in our lives.

Whether it is a print of the Victorians enjoying an outing to the Zoo, a cartoonist’s sketch of British politicians and the Zoo’s pandas, or a watercolour of a new animal in the Gardens, there is so much to offer picture researchers in the ZSL Library.

C.F. Sharpe – Vulture In 2005 ZSL received funding, which continued until March 2008, from the Michael Marks Charitable Trust to produce an online catalogue of the prints, drawings, paintings and sculptures. You can use the ZSL online library catalogue to view catalogue records of items currently listed. Once in the catalogue use the ‘Switch database’ option to move into the developing ART database.