Richard Owen

Geology and Inhabitants of the Ancient World (Illustrated) Richard Owen

Prehistoric life fascinated Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins. So much, that when the Great Exhibition, the first in a series of world fairs, made its debut in a south London park (now Hyde Park) in 1851, he collaborated with Sir Richard Owens and other leading paleontologists of the time on a three year endeavor to create 33 life-size models of extinct dinosaurs made entirely from concrete. To generate press around the exposition, a dinner was held inside the mould the scientists used for the replica of an Iguanodon. This book is a sort of official guide to his sculptures, as well as technical descriptions of the animals' biology and the geological structures from which they were unearthed to educate the attendants of the world's fair on the contextual and scientific information which accompanies his monumental recreation.