McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Musk Rat or Musquash
Muskrat
Ondatra zibethicus
Item
1 watercolour painting ; 56 x 39 cm + 1 leaf
Peter Paillou was born in London into a Huguenot family and was recognised in his own time as an eminent ‘bird painter’. In 1744 he began to paint for Taylor White and worked for him for almost thirty years, painting chiefly birds and mammals. He painted as well for Robert More, Joseph Banks, and for the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. Many of his paintings of birds were used as the basis for book illustrations, often engraved by his colleague and fellow Huguenot, Peter Mazell. Paillou was elected to the Society of Artists and in 1763 he exhibited ‘A Piece of Birds, in Watercolours; the Hen of the Wood and Cock of the Red Game’. In 1778, to considerable approval, he also showed a picture of ‘A Horned Owl from Peru’, completely made from feathers.
Drawing of a Muskrat from a 18th century specimen [modern geographical distribution: the United States, Canada, and Europe.] Attributed to Peter Paillou.
Manuscript note on front of drawing: Musk Rat or Musquash (Fiber zibethicus)
Manuscript note on back of drawing: Pennant’s Quadrupeds 191. Castor Zibelinus Musk Beaver Rat musqué
Scientific name: Ondatra zibethicus
With manuscript text on accompanying leaf.
Transcription of manuscript note on accompanying leaf: Quadrupedes Glires Castor.
Castor Zibelinus
Castor Zibelinus capite rotundo ore
vibrisato corpore fusco cauda nuda
nigrascente [nigrescente] pedibus palmatis pentadactylis
palpebris albidis. Pennant quadr. 191
Habitat in America. dentes 2 superiores & inferiores
The Musk Beaver
this Drawing made from the British musaeum
where the french name Rats musque is added The Musk Beaver capite rotundo
Corpore fusco cauda nuda nigresecente
ore vibrisato [vibrissato] pedibus palmatis
palpebris albicantibus
Pennant Quadr. 174
Translation of manuscript note on accompanying leaf: Quadrupedes Glires Castor.
Castor Zibelinus
Castor Zibelinus with a round head,
whiskered face, tawny body, bare black tail,
webbed five-toed feet,
and white eyes. Pennant quadr. 191
It lives in America. There are 2 upper and lower incisors.
The Musk Beaver
this Drawing made from the British musaeum
where the french name Rats musque is added The Musk Beaver with a round head
tawny body, bare black tail,
whiskered face, webbed feet, and white eyes.
Pennant Quadr. 174