Joseph Smit (18 July 1836 – 4 November 1929) was a Dutch zoological

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

. L.B. Holthuis, Leiden, (1958, 1995) ''Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, 1820 - 1958''. page 47
reprint manuscript, PDF

Background

Smit was born in Lisse. He received his first commission from

Hermann Schlegel Hermann Schlegel (10 June 1804 – 17 January 1884) was a German ornithologist, herpetologist and ichthyologist. Early life and education Schlegel was born at Altenburg, the son of a brassfounder. His father collected butterflies, which stimulated ...

at the Leiden Museum to work on the lithographs for a book on the birds of the Dutch East Indies. In 1866 he was invited to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Philip Sclater Philip Lutley Sclater (4 November 1829 – 27 June 1913) was an England, English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world. He was Secretary of the Zoological ...

to do the lithography for Sclater's ''Exotic Ornithology''; he prepared a hundred images for the book. He also did the lithography for his friend Joseph Wolf's ''Zoological Sketches'', as well as

Daniel Giraud Elliot Daniel Giraud Elliot (March 7, 1835 – December 22, 1915) was an American zoologist and the founder of the American Ornithologist Union. Life He was born in New York City on March 7, 1835, to George and Rebecca Elliot. In 1858, he married Ann ...

's monographs on the

Phasianidae Phasianidae is a family (biology), family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, grouse, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, Turkey bird, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular Game (hu ...

and Paradisaeidae. Beginning in the 1870s, he worked on the ''Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum'' (1874–1898, edited by

Richard Bowdler Sharpe Richard Bowdler Sharpe (22 November 1847 – 25 December 1909) was an English people, English zoologist and ornithology, ornithologist who worked as curator of the bird collection at the British Museum of natural history. In the course of his car ...

), and later on Lord Lilford's ''Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands''. Smit contributed illustrations to

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, includ ...

's books on birds of different parts of the world, along with leading

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

wildlife artists including Wolf,

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

, William Hart, Henry Constantine Richter and J.G. Keulemans. He also provided many of the illustrations of dinosaurs and other fossil creatures for the popular book ''Extinct Monsters'' (1892) by Henry Neville Hutchinson. He died in his home on Cobden Hill,

Radlett Radlett is a large village in Hertfordshire, England, between Elstree and St Albans on Watling Street, with a population of 10,060. It is in the council district of Hertsmere in the south of the county, and forms part of the civil parish of A ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, United Kingdom on 4 November 1929 at age 93.

Family

His son Pierre Jacques Smit (born October 1863 at Leiderdorp – 1960), who used the name Peter Smit, was also a zoological illustrator.

Works to which Joseph Smit contributed

*''Exotic Ornithology'' Sclater & Salvin, 1869 *''Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum'' *''The Ibis'' *''Monograph of the Phasianidae'' Elliot, 1872 *''A Monograph of the Paradiseidae'' Elliot, 1873 *''Jottings during the Cruise of the H.M.S. Curacoa'' Brenchley *''Survey of Western Palestine'' Tristram *''Zoological Sketches'' Wolf *''The Book of Antelopes'' *''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' *''Transactions of the Zoological Society of London'' *''Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Isles'' Lilford *''Extinct Monsters'' Hutchinson, 1892 *''Bulletin of the Liverpool Museums under the City Council''

References

External links

Illustrations from Smit in ''The Ibis.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smit, Joseph 1836 births 1929 deaths Dutch illustrators People from Lisse Dutch bird artists 19th-century Dutch painters Dutch male painters 20th-century Dutch painters People from Radlett 19th-century Dutch male artists 20th-century Dutch male artists

Background

Family

Works to which Joseph Smit contributed

See also

References

External links