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Smith, Preston, Smith, and Irey 
Cyclura and crocodilian, as well as a skink and a snake, were present 
among the 44 drawings adapted from originals by White that are now 
lost. Catesby copied his “iguana” from the Cyclura (Hulton and Quinn 
1964). The monochrome reproductions of these two additional reptiles 
(Hulton and Quinn 1964) are too inaccurate (whether originally so or 
from unfaithful copying) to identify satisfactorily. Cochran (in Hulton 
and Quinn 1964) regarded the snake as “probably” a Lampropeltis, 
whereas we suggest that Nerodia is a more likely model. She thought 
the skink was “probably” a mature male Eumeces fasciatus (L.), although 
noting that E. inexpectatus and E. laticeps also occur in the vicinity of 
Roanoke Island and could possibly have been represented in the painting. 
There are only two other redrawn versions of White’s herpetological 
paintings of early date, both noted in Hulton and Quinn (1964). One is 
a 1589 work by Walter Bigges (“A summarie and true discourse of Sir 
Francis Drake’s West Indian Voyage . . .”), showing an “iguana” and an 
“alligator or crocodile” drawn by Baptista Boazio from White’s figures, 
here reproduced as Fig. 4 and 5. A “turtle” also shown in that volume is 
too crudely stylized to be identifiable; its uncertain source is apparently 
not White. The second is John Mountgomery’s manuscript of 1588-1589 
(“A treatice concerning the navie of England . . .”), in which White’s 
Caretta is shown quite clearly in a corner of a large naval panorama. 
According to Hulton (1984), this is “the earliest known copy of a John 
White drawing.” 
The only other herpetological subject matter in Hulton and Quinn’s 
illustrations is some stylized snakes decorating the bodies of some Piet 
warriors illustrated in manuscripts by Lucas de Heere, about 1575 
(Hulton and Quinn 1964). 
Although numerous non-herpetological paintings by White were 
republished in subsequent years, not until the 1930s were the reptiles 
reproduced faithfully in color. One unique, complete set of all of 
White’s paintings was copied by a Miss Bessie Barclay for the Newport 
News public schools, and five other sets consisting of tinted photostats 
were prepared under the direction of Mrs. Sonia Tregaskis (Hulton and 
Quinn 1964). One of the Tregaskis sets is at the University of Michigan 
and was the source of the reproduction in the pamphlet by Peckham, 
Gaige, and Hubbs (1946), and in the book by Lorant (1946), which 
finally brought White’s work to rank-and-file accessibility. Hulton and 
Quinn (1964) pursued their definitive work with the conviction that 
Lorant’s book, “though useful, was unfortunately marred by the entirely 
unreliable quality of the plates and text alike” — an opinion universally 
shared by academic reviewers. 
The history of John White is shrouded with uncertainties (Quinn 
1955). He was an Englishman of sufficient stature to be appointed by 
