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.