The American Museum of Natural History Asiatic Zoological Expedition of
1916-1917 was led by Roy Chapman Andrews. The goal of the expedition was to
collect Asian mammals and birds to add to the planned Asiatic Hall of the
Museum. The Expedition traveled through areas of eastern and southwest China,
particularly in the Yunnan Province. They ultimately crossed over 2000 miles on
horseback, camping at such varied altitudes as 1500 to 15000 feet above sea
level while collecting approximately 3000 specimens for the Museum. (1)
The mission of the Faunthorpe-Vernay Expedition of the American Museum of
Natural History was to amass a collection of mammals and other animals that
represented the South Asian region. The work was begun with the 1923 expedition
and continued through 1929. The main participants were Col. John Champion
Faunthorpe and Arthur Stannard Vernay, two British men who were previously
unassociated with the Museum. Funding was provided by Vernay and the Jesup Fund
through the Department of Mammals. The Expedition took place primarily in India,
Burma, and Nepal, and added an invaluable collection to the Museum’s holdings.
The Vernay-Faunthorpe Hall of South Asiatic Mammals, consisting of material
exclusively collected on these expeditions, opened on November 17, 1930.
Vernay’s trip to Upper Burma in 1935 occurred during what could be called
the ‘golden age’ of scientific expeditions, aiming to represent both the
indigenous cultural and animal inhabitants of far away regions.