Porcupine Gallery

Siena, Italy - Costume of the Contrada dell'Istrice

Costumes of the Contrada of Istrice (Porcupine), Siena, Italy. At birth you become a member of one of the 17 Contrade (Districts) and your life revolves around your Contrada. Each contrada is named after an animal or symbol with individual (and complicated!) heraldic and semi-mythological associations and devices. The contrade race against each other in the famous horse race the Palio around the tight (and dangerous) streets of the city. Date: circa 1910s

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

Crested porcupine, Hystrix cristata, and urson

Crested porcupine, Hystrix cristata, and urson or North American porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum. . Handcolored copperplate stipple engraving from Frederic Cuvier's Dictionary of Natural Science: Mammals, Paris, France, 1816. Illustration by J. G. Pretre, engraved by David, directed by Pierre Jean-Francois Turpin, and published by F.G. Levrault. Jean Gabriel Pretre (1780-1845) was painter of natural history at Empress Josephine's zoo and later became artist to the Museum of Natural History

© Florilegius / Mary Evans

Lake of the Clouds in Fall

Carp River running through the silhouettes of the ancient Porcupine Mountains in Fall Color, the Lake of the Clouds is a blue gem amid the thick forests. The Lake of the Clouds is perhaps the most photographic feature in the Porcupine Mountains region. No matter what the season, it is a truly breathtaking sight to behold. The best view of the lake and the surrounding hills is from an easily accessible boardwalk just off 107th Engineers Memorial Highway. The Lake of the Clouds Scenic Area is located in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

© Matt Anderson