From my position at the Zoological Society and from the aid received from numerous correspondents in all parts of the world, I had little difficulty from the first in providing my much-esteemed friend with materials for his studies, and in the beginning of 1871 had the pleasure of putting at his disposal some notes and materials concerning the Antelopes of the genus Tragelaphus. Upon these was based the excellent paper on that genus read by Sir Victor before the Zoological Society on the 16th of May of that year, the first of a series of essays on this and kindred subjects. Four similar papers, as will be seen by reference to the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings,’ followed in 1872, three in 1874, and others in succeeding years, until 1878, when, I regret to say, they came to an abrupt conclusion. The last of the series was one of an extremely useful and important character, containing, as it did, a complete essay on the classification of the Deer-family and a synopsis of the existing species, which, until recently, has remained our leading authority upon this difficult group of Mammals. During the whole of this time also Sir Victor had been engaged in collecting specimens, and in having drawings made by Wolf and put upon the stone by Smit, for a complete work on the Bovine animals which he had planned out and proposed to write. After 1878, however, other matters intervened and sadly interfered with my friend’s studies in Natural History. Sir Victor changed his habitual residence to Pau, and though I now saw him occasionally in London on his way from France to his home in Ireland, I could never induce him to continue his former researches, although he always assured me that he was still devoted to Natural Science and was determined to return to it eventually. Circumstances, however, prevented him from carrying his wishes into effect. In November 1891, when still in the prime of life, Sir Victor died, leaving his great work still unfinished, and represented mainly by a series of over a hundred lithographic plates, which, as already mentioned in the Introduction, have formed the basis of the present work. The MSS. which were also kindly placed at my disposal by the family, not having been touched for nearly fifteen years, were in such an incomplete state that it was impossible to utilize them. Upon pointing out this to his son, the present Sir Douglas Brooke, he was good enough to assure me that his only wish was that the best possible use for Science should be made of the whole of the materials accumulated by his father. Acting upon this understanding I undertook to prepare the letterpress of an entirely new work on the Antelopes, using such of Sir Victor’s plates as I could employ for its illustration.

Such was the origin of the present work, now happily brought to a close after a period of six years, during which it has occupied no unimportant part of my leisure time. Even so it would not have been possible for me to have accomplished it without the able assistance of my excellent friend Mr. Oldfield Thomas, of the British Museum. It was, of course, of the greatest advantage to the work that Thomas was already familiarly acquainted with the subject, and had, moreover, under his charge the unrivalled series of specimens of Mammals contained in our National Collection.

Although Thomas and I consider ourselves, of course, jointly responsible for all the statements in this work, every line of which has undergone the supervision of both authors, I may state that Thomas’s chief part of the task was, as agreed between us, to be the synonymy and scientific descriptions, and my speciality the preparation of the ordinary letterpress. I must also not omit to mention that as regards the much-vexed subject of Zoological Nomenclature my friend and I are not in perfect accord, as he takes a more severe view of the rule of priority than I am disposed to adopt. There has, therefore, been necessarily a little “give and take” on each side as to the names to be adopted in this work. For these latter, in so far as they may be held to contravene the strict laws of nomenclature, Thomas desires to disclaim—as I am willing to accept—all responsibility. It should also be mentioned that during the issue of the last volume Thomas’s somewhat serious illness and consequent absence from his post in London has compelled him to relegate some of his share in the present work to Mr. R. I. Pocock, of the British Museum, who, I need hardly say, has most efficiently assisted me in finishing the task and to whom I hereby tender my most sincere thanks.

I must also not forget to record the names of other friends and correspondents who have materially assisted us in the preparation of the ‘Book of Antelopes.’ Amongst these I must specially mention Herr Matschie, of the Natural History Museum of Berlin, who has kindly furnished many notes on the collection of Mammals under his charge in that Institution; nor must I forget the names of Mr. F. C. Selous, Herr Oscar Neumann, Mr. S. L. Hinde, Mr. F. V. Kirby, Capt. H. G. C. Swayne, Mr. Ernest Gedge, Sir Harry Johnston, K.C.B., Mr. R. Crawshay, Mr. Alfred Sharpe, Sir John Kirk, Mr. F. E. Blaauw, Mr. F. J. Jackson, Major F. C. Trollope, Dr. E. Büchner, Mr. E. Buxton, Mr. J. I. S. Whitaker, Sir Edmund Loder, Mr. A. E. Pease, Mr. Lort Phillips, Mr. T. W. H. Clarke, Mr. J. ffolliott Darling, Mr. John Millais, Mr. W. E. de Winton, and my son Mr. W. L. Sclater, Director of the South African Museum, Capetown, to all of whom, on behalf of Thomas and myself, I wish to tender our most heartfelt thanks for their kind assistance.

Finally, I may mention that this work has been issued in parts at the following dates:—

Part I.BubalidinæAug.1894
II.„Jan.1895
III.CephalophinæMay1895
IV.„Sept.1895
V.NeotraginæJan.1896
VI.CervicaprinæAug.1896
VII.„Jan.1897
VIII.„Mar.1897
IX.AntilopinæAug.1897
X.„Feb.1898
XI.„June1898
XII.„Oct.1898
XIII.HippotraginæFeb.1899
XIV.„May1899
XV.TragelaphinæJan.1900
XVI.
XVII„Aug.1900

The date attached to the letterpress at the end of each article is, as nearly as possible, that at which it was finished and corrected for the press.

P. L. S.

3 Hanover Square, London, W.

June 1st, 1900.