32b. Allosaurus in Bone and Flesh, 1907 and 1914
In 1907, the American Museum of Natural History in New York unveiled a novel dinosaur display; they mounted a full skeleton of an Allosaurus over the skeleton of the tail of a sauropod, as if the Allosaurus were feeding on the sauropod remains. Scientific American put a photograph of the mount on the cover of this issue, along with a watercolor restoration by Charles Knight (right)
Knight’s restoration is not very well known, because several years later he replaced it with a painting (left) that more closely mirrored the position of the Allosaurus as mounted. That second painting is reproduced in Dickerson’s 1914 article.
Sources
Beasley, Walter L. “A carnivorous dinosaur: A reconstructed skeleton of a huge saurian,” in: Scientific American, vol. 97, no. 24 (Dec. 14, 1907), pp. 437, 446-7. This work is part of our History of Science Collection, but it was NOT included in the original exhibition.
Dickerson, Mary Cynthia. "Charles R. Knight--Painter and sculptor of animals," in: American Museum Journal, vol. 14 (1914), pp. 83-98. This work was on display in the original exhibition as item 32.