Stout's _Charles R.Knight Sketchbook_

[Danvarner@aol.com]

       I received my copy of Bill Stout's_Charles R. Knight Sketchbook_about 
two weeks ago and thought that I'd now give you a little review. I am, of 
course, very excited by it as it is so seldom one sees previously unpublished 
art by Knight these days. The book contains two previously unseen animals by 
Knight. I was surprised to see a quick and rather simple sketch of 
Brachiosaurus in a preliminary drawing for a scale chart in _Before the Dawn 
of History_. There are also two drawings of the head of the saber toothed 
marsupial, Thylacosmilus. There are a number of dinosaur sketches and 
studies, including two for the original Tyrannosaurus painting at the AMNH (I 
think it's 1905, and is not only the model for Kong's tyrannosaur but also 
Delgado's adult and juvenile Triceratops models in The Lost World and 
Creation). There are a number of charcoal drawings that were transferred onto 
lithographic limestone as illustrations for _Life Through the Ages_ including 
the fighting Tyrannosaurs and a rough sketch for same. Since everything in 
the charcoal sketch would be reversed on the stone, Knight had to sign his 
name backwards ala Di Vinci. If you have the book (and you should! Dr. Farlow 
wants you should buy one), you can see he made one slip-up on the Mosasaur 
print where the "N" is backward. There are several other rare anatomical 
studies--a very nice one of a titanothere, and two drawings made in front of 
the AMNH Stegosaurus mount (you can see how he used these drawings when he 
created the Ceratosaurus/Stegosaurus painting for the February 1942 National 
Geographic article.
       There are also stunning drawings of fish, birds and mammals from his 
zoo visits including a restful page of sleeping big cats. When the first 
Komodo dragons were brought to the Bronx Zoo in the 20's Knight was there and 
made a number of beautiful drawings from life. These were the same lizards 
that inspired Merian Cooper's original idea for King Kong. They also came in 
handy for the swarm of caseids in his Field Museum Dimetrodon mural.
       At the end of the book are two exquisite drawings of his daughter, 
Lucy, who, at a very early age tended to Knight's business and later his 
legacy. 
       The reproductions are not of the best quality, but Stout has gone to 
great lengths to restore them and make them available at a modest price. For 
this he should be applauded. Best part is that this is just the first volume 
of a series and Stout plans to issue a new volume every year. The young (and 
old) artists on this list can learn much from these drawings. To order go 
here:
http://www.williamstout.com/catologue/BOOKS/BOOKS.HTML

       DV