As Manchester Museum’s ‘Object Lessons‘ exhibition is drawing to a close, Catherine from the Visitor Team takes a closer look at how illustrations and models can provide a snapshot of a moment in scientific understanding.
For more about palaeontology at Manchester Museum, have a look at the Curator’s blog, Palaeo Manchester.
Imagining the Prehistoric
If someone asked you to imagine the Earth before humans, what would come to mind? Maybe scenes from Jurassic Park or Walking with Dinosaurs, or our own Stan as a T-Rex in his prime? But 200 years ago if you asked the same question you’d have got a confused response. Although fossils had been discovered for hundreds of years they were seen as proof of the dragons and sea serpents that had once roamed the earth.
Mary Anning’s Fossils
This all began to change, however, in the early 1800s, following Mary Anning’s discoveries of fossilised prehistoric marine reptiles, and then later discoveries of megalodon and iguanodon fossils. People began to have an interest in what had come before them, and whilst the fossils on display throughout the country allowed people an idea of what had been, the question still remained, what would these collections of bones actually have looked like?
Duria Antiquior or ‘a more ancient Dorset’ by Henry De la Beche, a copy of which is currently on display in Manchester Museum’s ‘Object Lessons’ exhibition.
Bringing Fossils to Life
By 1830, the public finally had an answer with the production of Duria Antiquior or ‘a more ancient Dorset’ by Henry De la Beche. For the first time ever, prehistoric creatures that had only been written about could be seen in this watercolour that relied on fossil evidence to show the ‘deep past’.
Those who could afford the 2 pound 10 shilling price were able to get a snapshot of prehistoric marine life, full of creatures attacking each other in a packed sea. Henry De la Beche was one of the first professional geologists and he created and sold the artwork to help the palaeontologist, Mary Anning.
Whilst Anning was, and still is, known for her impressive fossil finds, the unpredictability of her work (and the fact she was a woman in a male dominated area) meant she often had money troubles, so De la Beche sold copies of his painting to raise money for her. Many of the prehistoric marine reptiles pictured were actually based on fossils that she had found at Lyme Regis.
Portrait of Mary Anning and her dog Tray, alongside one of the plesiosaur fossils she discovered, now on display in the Natural History Museum, London. (Photo from nhm.ac.uk)
The Duria Antiquior painting shows a busy, violent scene. Mary Anning was known for her ichthyosaur and plesiosaur finds so they dominate the image, with two fighting each other above the water line. Other plesiosaurs are reaching their heads out of the water to catch prey on land and even pluck a pterodactyl from the sky!
A Moment in Scientific Understanding
Our understanding of the creatures has since changed and we now know that the two didn’t fight – and that plesiosaurs didn’t use their long necks to catch prey above water but to dart towards fish nearby. However, the picture isn’t completely inaccurate; the ichthyosaurs shown eating fish were based on fossil evidence showing the contents of an ichthyosaur’s stomach. There are also a number of fossils ‘in the making’. An ammonite shell lies on the fossil floor and, if you look closely, you can see droppings coming from the plesiosaur in the centre; this was a representation of coprolites (fossilised poo). Some later editions saw this element painted over – plesiosaur poo wasn’t thought fit for polite society, even if it was a fossil!
Duria Antiquior proved a success amongst both the general public and the geologists of the day. The print was reproduced multiple times and news spread around the world of this exciting new look at what had once lived on Earth. William Buckland wrote a letter to De la Beche relating how he used the painting in some of his lectures, describing his class as being ‘30% better off’ for the inclusion of the work.
Prehistory in Three Dimensions!
50 years on and the world had still only seen dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures within drawings, never in 3D form, this was all to change however with the arrival of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and his Dinosaur Court at the Crystal Palace.
The Crystal Palace was a major Victorian creation, originally built to house the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, with millions of people visiting the massive glass building to get a look at the newest innovations in technology and products from around the British Empire. When the structure was moved into its own park they decided to renovate the surrounding land. One of the highlights, and one of the only features still there today, were the prehistoric sculptures created by Waterhouse Hawkins, the Crystal Palace dinosaurs.
The Crystal Palace after its relocation, the prehistoric sculptures were away from the main building.
The Crystal palace ‘Dinosaurs’
In 1852 Waterhouse Hawkins, a famous zoological illustrator who had previously worked for Charles Darwin, was employed to make the first ever scientific sculptures of dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures. Despite their name, of the 31 finished Crystal Palace Dinosaurs only 4 were actually what we would classify as dinosaurs, others were either classified differently, such as prehistoric marine reptiles like the plesiosaur, or were from a later period, like the Irish Elk.
Waterhouse Hawkins worked carefully to get his sculptures as accurate as possible, something particularly difficult when he had very limited fossil finds (sometimes as little as a head!) for many of the creatures. He read up on all the latest theories on prehistoric animals and then made preliminary drawings based on measurements from real fossils. He would then submit his sketches to the palaeontologist Richard Owen who would check they were accurate, although in some cases Waterhouse Hawkins didn’t necessarily follow his advice! It was then that the building began.
A Mammoth Construction!
Full sized clay moulds were made, with Waterhouse Hawkins ensuring they looked as life-like as possible, some of the models used up to 30 tons of clay, all supported by just 4 legs. Constructing the actual figures was a huge task, the iguanodon alone contained iron columns, 600 bricks and over 1000 different tiles.
Drawing of Waterhouse Hawkins studio, the dinosaur being built in the centre is the iguanodon.
Once the models were open to the public, people flocked to see them; imagine growing up not knowing any of these creatures had ever existed and suddenly finding yourself transported back in time to a world full of outlandish, and sometimes scary creatures! It was unlike anything people had done before and proved very popular, over a million people visited in the following 50 years. However the chance to see the deep past did create some confusion; a number of visitors tried to prise the statues’ teeth out, thinking they were valuable fossils rather than just lead …
Increasing Access
Whilst the sculptures were visited by people from all over the country, Waterhouse Hawkins soon realised there were many who would never get chance to see his impressive creatures. With the help of the Royal Society of Arts, he set about creating smaller models of his creatures to be used by schools, universities and museums throughout the country.
Although the ichthyosaur model currently on display in the ‘Object Lessons’ exhibition here at Manchester Museum isn’t one of these first models, it was used in the same way to teach people about prehistoric life.
Ichthyosaur, plaster model based on the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs by B. Watherhouse Hawkins. London, 1857. On display in ‘Object Lessons’, Manchester Museum.
Despite their popularity there were some who felt the sculptures were inaccurate and, in most cases, they have since been proved right through more complete fossils being found.
Just a few of the Waterhouse Hawkins sculptures still on display in Crystal Palace Park. (Photos © Peter Reed)
Duria Antiquior and the sculptures at the Crystal Palace can now seem quite outdated. However they provide us with a snapshot of the past, of a time when prehistoric creatures were a new, exciting idea. Where else in the world can you go for a picnic and spot a Victorian plesiosaur?
Catherine Tindsley
Find out more:
The Memory Palace, Episode 98 ‘Under Our Feet’ – really interesting podcast about Waterhouse Hawkins, only 10 minutes long
Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs
Darwin and the Dinosaurs audio trail (Crystal Palace)
The De la Beche archive at Amgueddfa Cymru
@McrMuseum on Periscope: David Gelsthorpe talking Fossils in Object Lessons for #FossilFriday
Secord, J.A. (2004) ‘Monsters at the Crystal Palace’, in de Chadarevian, S. and Hopwood, N. (eds.) Models: The Third Dimension of Science, Stanford, Stanford University Press.
Clary, R.M. and Wondersee, J.H. (2009) ‘All are Worthy to Know the Earth: Henry De la Beche and the Origin of Geological Literacy’ [online], in Science & Education, vol. 18, no. 10. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11191-008-9177-z (Accessed 12 August 2017).
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