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Natural history

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"White Albatross"
Artist: Port Jackson Painter
Created: [between 1788 and 1797]
Dimensions: 25.3 x 17.7 cm
Reference: Watling Drawing - no. 337

 
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Bird in profile, facing to the left. It is depicted standing on a pale green mound or outcrop with brown edges, in front of water which is represented by a gradated wsh of grey-blue through white and pale pink to grey-blue, and against a plain background. The bird has a white head and underparts overlaid with grey hatched lines, and dark grey upper parts, heavily overlaid with black hatched lines and spots on the wing. The drawing is annotated in ink and pencil. It is framed by a pencil border at the top and sides, and a panel at the base created by two sets of double ruled lines of black ink, which contains the ink annotations and a scale drawn in ink and wash to the ratio of 5.1 cm. - 1 foot.

 
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  • Port Jackson Painter]
  • The drawing is annotated in ink at bottom "The Bird this Drawing was taken from was caught some distance from the Entrance of Port Jackson at Sea", followed by a "Scale of Feet".
  • The drawing is unsigned and undated.
  • The drawing is inscribed in ink at top right with the number "269.". This refers to the catalogue list compiled by John Latham c. 1801 which was acquired with the drawings, and is filed with them at the end of the Watling Drawings series.
  • The drawing is annotated in pencil at top "White albatross Syn. v. 304". This has been copied in ink at bottom, "Albatross Latham Syn 5. p. 304.". The page reference is to Latham's General Synopsis of Birds (1781-85).
  • This bird was more recently identified as the Black-browed Albatross, Diomedea melanophris in Hindwood K. A. (1970).
  • The drawing is annotated in pencil at top "Lambert Drawing III. 8.". This refers to a related set of drawings from the collections of the 13th Earl of Derby, held in the Library at Knowsley Hall, Lancashire.
  • The author of this catalogue record is Suzanne Stenning.
  • By permission of the trustees of the Natural History Museum (London)
  • Two sets of transparencies held in the Natural History Museum (London) Zoology Library and Picture Library: Picture Library reference number 12337
  • James Lee of Kensington : purchased ; 1902
  • Data sheet available.
  • Latham, John. A General Synopsis of Birds. London: Benjamin White, 1781-85.
  • Hindwood K. A. 'The "Watling" drawings with incidental notes on the "Lambert" and the "Latham" drawings', Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales for the years 1968-69 (1970).