MP, the number of books on extinct animals is astounding, especially the charismatic megafauna like this.
But these particular engravings are more interesting to me because they are from the early 20th century when most folks were still wrestling with the ideas of evolutionary descent.
While I like the drawing - I'm really interested in the person who had this done. The way I look at it, he was not wealthy, and I suspect he was an avid hunter who took this rifle in to the field a lot. If he had been rich, there would have been figures on the right side of the action. Even with the bolt, there is room for more animals to be inlaid. And there is no engraving on the barrel or other parts. Also, I tend to think that a rich mans gun would not be so beat up - of course that is easily proven wrong with other rifles.
The wood and entire rest of the gun looks factory to me, where a rich man would have it custom stocked. So, I think this is someone who might be more like me and had an interest in this particular topic and just enough money that he could scrape together to get this done. I bet it was his only customized rifle.
Well, that is extrapolating well beyond the data, of course, but I do wish I could figure it out. And I wish even more that I had bought it. Because if I had, I guarantee it would be elk hunting this fall.
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/qclHjMQ.jpg)
