20th Century Collection (#5)

Diplodocus presented to the museum, 1905
The cast of Diplodocus carnegii was presented by the Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie. The original skeleton, excavated in Wyoming, is in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

The Palaeontology Wing at The Natural History Museum, London
The Palaeontology wing extending to the east of the main Museum frontage, was opened in May 1977 it provides 10, 000 square meters of floor area over seven floors for the study

Excavations at Piltdown circa 1913
Charles Dawson (left) and Dr A Smith Woodward (right)

Iguanodon atherfieldensis skull
The skull belonging to Iguanodon atherfieldensis measuring 450mm long. The fossil was discovered along with a complete skeleton in Brook Bay, Isle of Wight and collected by R.W. Hardy in 1917

Huayangosaurus skull
A fossil skull that once belonged to Huayangosaurus, a dinosaur from the infraorder Stegosauria. This specimen was discovered in Sichuan, China in 1982

Sauropod excavation, 1988
Team cleaning exposed elements of the fore and hind limbs of a Sauropod dinosaur in Niger, 1988

Sivapithecus indicus
Illustration by Maurice Wilson of Sivapithecus indicus, thick coated enamelled apes from Turkey and Indo-Pakistan dating from 13 million years ago

Paranthropus boisei (OH5)

Paranthropus sp. (left) and Homo erectus (right)
Illustration by Maurice Wilson. 2 to 1.5 million years ago parts of Africa were populated by these two hominids. Paranthropus foraged peacefully but here is threatened by Homo erectus

Homo heildelbergensis, Broken Hill or Rhodesian Man
Illustration by Michael Wilson of a Rhodesian man (H. heildelbergensi) family reconstructed from fossils discovered at Broken Hill, Kabwe, Zambia

Bromelia anticantha
Watercolour by Margaret Ursula Mee, c. 1958. Mees name will be forever associated with her interest in conserving the Amazon rainforests

Excavations at Piltdown c. 1913
Arthur Smith Woodward and the Abbe Henri Breuil at Piltdown

Viscum album, mistletoe & Ilex sp. holly
Drawing from Watercolour and pencil drawings of birds, mammals and boats of the Shetland Islands, with some drawings of plants (1918-1974) by Muriel Helen Dawson (1897-1974)

Giraffes on steps, October 1903 at the Natural History Museu
More space to exhibit larger animals to an eager public fascinated by discoveries made on worldwide expeditions. This trio formed part of the new mammal display in 1903 along the first floor East

Children with Sir John Ramsbottom December 1948
Children around Sir John Ramsbottom with spirit jar, December 1948. At the Natural History Museum, London

The jawbones of Greenland right whale, c. 1912
These jaw bones, each measuring approximately 4.10m (13 ft), were part of a specimen from Lochend, Shetland, donated in 1911 by a Mr Haldane

Little boy with fox, c. 1950
Parents and older siblings were actively discouraged from visiting the Childrens Centre, to ensure that the children were free to be themselves

Man carrying stuffed mammals for the Game Animals of the Emp
The Game Animals of the Empire exhibition opened in the newly built Whale Hall in 1932, as finances dictated that installation of the skeletons and models of whales had to be postponed

Sperm whale skeleton, March 1901
This sperm whale skeleton stood in the Central Hall between 1882 and 1901. The whale was found near Thurso, Scotland, in 1863

Diplodocus carnegiei, 1905
Thirty-six crates containing the replica diplodocus skeleton arrived in London in December 1904. The Director of the Carnegie Museum, where the original is located

Men in jaws of bowhead whale, 1934
In late 1934 this bowhead whale skeleton was hoisted into position in the new Whale Hall, where it still hangs today

Man wearing snake, 1930s
This young man, possibly a junior member of the Zoology Department, is posing with a king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) that presumably had just arrived at the Museum

Woman with dinosaur models, 1926
Miss Hilda Bather, daughter of Francis Arthur Bather, Keeper of Geology, offered this set of seven dinosaur models for sale from her premises, the Craft Shop at Bognor Regis, Sussex

The King of Spain presenting an ibex, July 1927
At the request of George V, the presentation of a group of ibex by King Alfonso of Spain in July 1927 was kept informal. An unveiling ceremony took place at noon in the Central Hall

Chang film presentation, 1927. The Natural History Museum
In 1925 Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, later co-directors of King Kong, devised a 70-minute tale, Chang, of a Thai jungle village encountering wild animals, which premiered two years later

Guy Dollman with small-scale elephant model, 1927
Captain Guy Dollman (seated), Assistant Keeper of Zoology, designed this model scene for an innovative, full-sized display in one of the bays in the Central Hall which opened in July 1927

Girl with dinosaur bone, 1920s
In the Fossil Reptile gallery, this young woman holds a yardstick against a cast of the right humerus or upper arm bone of Tornieria africana, named in 1911 after German palaeontologist

Dugong casting, c. 1924, the Natural History Museum, London
To avoid the results of deterioration, it was vital to prepare casts from the bodies of large cetaceans and other mammals, such as this rare dugong, as soon as they arrived at the Museum

Preparing models, c. 1924. The Natural History Museum, Lond
Percy and Stuart Latham Stammwitz, seen here adding details to a replica horse, were responsible for preparing models and mounted specimens required for gallery displays by the Zoology Department

Army biscuit enquiry, 1920s
Troops in South Africa and Mauritius found that biscuits sent out had been infested with moths, and become inedible. John Hartley Durrant of the Zoology Department was asked to investigate

Indian soldiers at entrance, 15 August 1919

Soldiers in grounds, 1917 at the Natural History Museum, Lon
During World War I a war farm was established at the eastern end of the grounds, tended by staff and convalescent soldiers

Roosevelt visiting the Natural History Museum, London, June
Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt spent the morning of 16 June 1914 sightseeing in London, one of his destinations being the Natural History Museum

Unveiling Selous memorial, June 1920
Frederick Courtenay Selous (1851-1917) was one of the most famous big game hunters of his era. He spent much of his life in Africa, but also hunted in North America and Asia Minor

African visitors, July 1905
Six Akka people from the Congo accompanied Colonel James Jonathan Harrison (front row), traveller and photographer, to London in 1905, appearing at the London Hippodrome before touring the country

Staff posing with blue whale model, 1938
Percy and Stuart Stammwitz were part of the team that built the famous 27m (90 ft) blue whale model, currently on display at the Natural History Museum, London. Photographed in January 1938

Open case with snake skeleton, 1939. The Natural History Mu
This Indian python skeleton, Python molurus, is still on display today

Men with horned specimens, 1940
This photograph appeared in the August 1940 edition of Tin Hat, the anonymous and very unofficial bulletin that was produced on various Museum typewriters between 1939 and 1942

Sperm whale excavation, Natural History Museum, 1938
This sperm whale skull and skeleton arrived in February 1937 from Bridlington, Humberside. Published in Life Through A Lens

Damaged windows, 1940
By the end of the war, almost every window and glass exhibit case in the Museum had been broken

Fish Gallery, 1935, the Natural History Museum
This photograph was taken to record work-in-progress on modernising the Fish Gallery

Plant mounters, 1934, The Natural History Museum
Although there were very few women on the permanent staff in the 1930s, a large number were employed as unofficial workers

Telephonist, 1933. The Natural History Museum, London
In 1883 the Treasury refused to sanction the purchase of telephones for the Museum, on the grounds of expense. Copper speaking tubes were suggested as an alternative, and can be seen here

Whale Hall, 1932

Guide Lecturer, 1932
A guide lecturer in 1932 shows visitors around the Game Animals of the Empire exhibition in the Natural History Museum, London

Staff dance, January 1927, The Natural History Museum
This photo of the staff dance held on New Years Day 1927 captures the party-going spirit of the Jazz age

Elephants and cases, c. 1924
A photograph of the Natural History Museums Central Hall containing elephants

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