A Great Auk replica model

These model Great Auks were for many years in the collection of David Wilson, the gentleman who saved the celebrated collection of Captain Vivian Hewitt from being destroyed. Through Mr. Wilson's intervention the Hewitt collection was donated to the British Trust for Ornithology, an institution that subsequently sold it to various parties to raise funds for its cause. However, Mr. Wilson retained several items for himself, including a model of the long extinct Great Auk which was recently sold at Dominic Winter. The Hewitt collection was famous for his obsession with Great Auks and he once owned no less than thirteen Great Auk eggs and four stuffed Great Auks, in addition to the recently sold feathered model. It is thought that these two additional models were made for Hewitt for unknown reasons, probably simply due to his Great Auk mania. 

Taxidermy, Natural History