Article ID: CBB517704255

The Lost Worlds of Messmore & Damon: Science, Spectacle & Prehistoric Monsters in Early-Twentieth Century America (2016)

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In 1924, the model-making company Messmore & Damon, Inc. of New York unleashed their masterpiece: the Amphibious Dinosaurus Brontosaurus, a moving, breathing, roaring animatronic dinosaur, based on displays in the American Museum of Natural History. Over the 1920s and 1930s, this became the focus of an ever-increasing publicity campaign, as Messmore & Damon exhibited prehistoric automata in department stores, the media, and the Chicago World Fair of 1933–34. These displays were hugely popular and widely discussed, drawing from the increasing public appeal of paleontology. Mixing commercial entertainment with invocations of scientific value, Messmore & Damon's prehistoric creations offer a window into the meaning and popularity of the deep time sciences in early-twentieth century America, and the links between science and spectacle in this period.

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Authors & Contributors
Brinkman, Paul David
Tamborini, Marco
T. Pointon
Lesser, Thomas A.
Cameron, Marlena Briane
Fallon, Richard
Concepts
Paleontology
Dinosaurs
Fossils
Museums
Natural history
Popularization
Time Periods
20th century, early
19th century
20th century
21st century
20th century, late
Places
United States
New York City (New York, U.S.)
New York (U.S.)
Germany
Berlin (Germany)
Wyoming (U.S.)
Institutions
Museum für Naturkunde (Berlin)
University of Wyoming
American Museum of Natural History
Field Museum of Natural History
Aquarium Berlin
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