Manfred Reichel’s Archaeopteryxes, 1941
In December of 1941, the Swiss ornithologist Manfred Reichel published an essay on the first bird Archaeopteryx in the journal Nos Oiseaux (‘Our Birds’). The article itself is descriptive and largely (but not completely!) a re-iteration of the argument already made in Heilmann’s The Origin of Birds (1926).
What really makes it something special are the exquisite pen drawings Reichel used to adorn his essay. They’re Heilmann-esque, but I daresay more refined. Moreover, they’re quite mundane in the posture of their subject; a departure from the ‘confrontational’ model used in late-19th-century reconstructions.
I’ve put the entire essay and some high-resolution images online at a dedicated Reichel page. Enjoy!
