14 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



1 — Lioness — an example of early work 



2 — African lion mounted at the Maison Verreaux about 1865 



3 — African lion, Hannibal, mounted at the American Museum of 

 Natural History by James L. Clark in 190G. All three specimens are 

 on exhibition in the American Museum at the present time 



The earliest bird 

 groups in the Ameri- 

 can Museum of Nat- 

 ural History, the first 

 of which was very 

 appropriately the 

 American robin, were 

 made largely after 

 those in the British 

 Museum and in- 

 stalled each in a 

 small case so as to be 

 viewed on four sides. 

 They thus differed 

 from their prototypes 

 in the Booth Museum 

 which, as noted, were 

 intended to be seen 

 from one side only.^ 



They were all 

 groups of small or 

 moderate size and 

 confined to species 

 found within fifty 

 miles of New York 

 City. The time was 

 not yet come, though 

 it was near at hand, 

 for the execution of 

 the large naturalistic 

 groups with which 

 we are now familiar, 

 and Museum officers 

 and trustees would 

 have hesitated to in- 

 cur the time and cost 

 involved in their 

 preparation. 



I These early American 

 Museum bird groups, 

 thirty-four in number, 

 have recentlybeen brought 

 together under the title of 

 " Local Birds " in the west 

 corridor of the second floor 



