New dino-art in books (was re survey)

["Mr Barnett" <martin.barnett3@virgin.net>]

Hi all,
          about a month ago Jim Farlow wrote to the list with some
interesting questions regarding artwork in books.  One of them being
something that I would like to add something to(albeit rather belated):

><4)  How important is _NEW_ art in your decision to
>buy a book? Are you more likely to buy a paleo book if
>it includes reconstructions and restorations that you
>have not seen before?>


I would say that there is a necessity for new art simply because of the
abundance of new dinosaurs being discovered.  I'm currently in the process
of catalogueing (spelled right?) the skeletal reconstructions I have in my
accumulated dinosaur book collection and I've been coming upon an awful lot
of repeats.  Despite the often fragmentary nature of the fossil record I'm
sure we'd all agree that there are enough dinosaurs to fill many more books
without duplicates especially with this wealth of new stuff coming from
Africa, Mongolia, The Argentinian beds and the chinese bird localities.  We
live in interesting times and yet I think the most recent finds I have good
skeletal reconstructions for are Mononykus, Seismosaurus and the Stegosaurus
throat armour.  By the very way in which they are produced I appreciate the
fact that book illustrations willI always be behind the times.  I am always
on the lookout for new skeletal reconstructions (as those of you who have
posted book notifications to the list, will know :) ).  Still, I look
forward to the day when the modern literature is filled with reconstructions
of various angles of Suchomimus, Drinker, Beipiaosaurus, Santanaraptor and
all the others.

Sam