I have been tracking down some illustrations that clearly served as models for engravings within the 1892 Waterlow & Sons and the 1906 Perkins, Bacon pictorial series among others. I have been writing up a couple of papers featuring these for possible inclusion in the LPS Journal, if Travis thinks that they make the grade.
I have also just found that one of those images, a pencil-and-watercolour elephant which I believe must have been the basis for the 1906 Perkins, Bacon 1 cent stamp, is currently for sale.
It occurs to me that - if there is a member whose pockets and commitment are deeper than mine - they might not thank me if they got to reading about it in some future issue of the LPS Journal, were minded to buy a thing of beauty, but then found that the painting had been long sold. So I thought I should mention it here and now.
The watercolour was produced around 1893 (to be an illustration for Richard Lydekker’s "The Royal Natural History") and is by Pierre Jacques Smit (Dutch-but-working-in-London, 1863-1960):
"Loxodonta Africana (African Elephant)"
Pencil and watercolor
Signed lower right: P.J. Smit
Paper size: 5 1/8 x 7 7/8 in.
It is on sale through a gallery in Philadelphia, at ... $15,000 (plus taxes, shipping, &c.)
https://aradergalleries.com/products/pierre-jacques-smit-dutch-1863-1961 Or you could look into the link and tell me whether you agree that this was surely the model for that 1-cent elephant.
Comments
The Giant Plantain-eater illustration, I believe, came from Sir Harry Johnston's 1902 book "The Uganda Protectorate" (volume 1, page 401), painted at the other end of the bird's geographical range. The old (1939 and 1942) reviews of "Johnstonian" stamps by Benjamin Hamilton were really just descriptions of links to the illustrations in Johnston's book "Liberia", and I am not aware that the Uganda painting has been noted before.
You can download from https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/177812#page/534/mode/1up. If that does not work well enough, I took a photo from the book itself, in The British Library, so please let me know.
Of particular interest to catch the eye would be Johnston's Giant Plantain-eater (as above and as on Scott #104), Agama lizard (#105), Pygmy Hippo (#110) and Bongo (#163).
Links from one internet supplier:
https://www.wayfair.co.uk/Big-Box-Art--Vintage-Pygmy-Hippopotamus-by-Harry-Johnston-Framed-Painting-Print-BBAFRAME2499-L1318-K~JKT58016.html?refid=GBUK321-JKT58016
https://www.wayfair.co.uk/home-decor/pdp/big-box-art-vintage-great-blue-plantain-eater-by-sir-harry-johnston-painting-print-on-canvas-jkt95465.html
https://www.wayfair.co.uk/home-decor/pdp/big-box-art-vintage-bongo-tragelaph-by-sir-harry-johnston-painting-print-on-canvas-jkt95459.html
https://www.wayfair.co.uk/home-decor/pdp/east-urban-home-vintage-red-and-blue-lizard-by-harry-johnston-framed-painting-print-jkt58017.html
(As before, I have failed to upload the images using the "Attach image/file" buttons - so any clues would be very welcome).
To display an image and not just a link to it, use "Attach image". It can handle *.jpg and *.png files. As a rule of thumb, stamps should be scanned at 600 dpi and covers at 150 dpi. If the image is wider than ~650 px, it is automatically resized to fit. It the image is wider or higher than 4000 px, "Attach image" will fail, but it should still be possible to attach it as file.
If none of this explains why you couldn't upload an image just send me the image file and I will try to figure out what's going on.