The Kangaroos. The unique mammals of Australia fascinated Gould. His intent in making an expedition to Australia had been to observe and describe the largely unknown bird life. He discovered on his arrival in 1838 that the mammals were equally in need of description and for the next two years he and his assistants worked intensively on both birds and mammals. In this case are shown a few examples of his work with those attractive animals, the kangaroos.
Pencil portrait, probably by H. C. Richter, of Osphranter antilopus, the Red Wallaroo, heavily annotated with instructions by Gould.
The finished hand-colored lithograph of Osphranter antilopus, showing the changes indicated by Gould's instructions. In The Mammals of Australia, vol. 2, plate 8.
Rough sketch, probably by Gould, of a group of Osphranter rufus, the Great Red Kangaroo. The inclusion of the figure of a man in a short nightshirt and a state of high distress may be for the purposes of scale but the animated response of one kangaroo to this apparition shows that humor was not entirely lacking from the expedition.
Watercolor, probably by Richter, of the same group of Osphranter rufus (minus nightshirted man), with notes by Gould.
Watercolor portrait of Osphranter rufus, probably by Richter, with notes by Gould.

~return to collections~