Overview

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, North American and European governments generously funded the discoveries of such famous paleontologists and geologists as Henry de la Beche, William Buckland, Richard Owen, Thomas Hawkins, Edward Drinker Cope, O. C. Marsh, and Charles W. Gilmore. In Patrons of Paleontology, Jane Davidson explores the motivation behind this rush to fund exploration, arguing that eagerness to discover strategic resources like coal deposits was further fueled by patrons who had a genuine passion for paleontology and the fascinating creatures that were being unearthed. These early decades of government support shaped the way the discipline grew, creating practices and enabling discoveries that continue to affect paleontology today.

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9780253025715

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This slim book, graced with beautiful facsimile reproductions of gorgeous paleontological folio art, is a treasure trove of vertebrate paleontological history, sacred and arcane. * The Quarterly Review of Biology *

Author Information

Jane P. Davidson is Professor of Art History at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is author of The Bone Sharp: The Life of Edward Drinker Cope, A History of Paleontology Illustration, and Early Modern Supernatural: The Dark Side of European Culture 1400-1700.

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