Specimen No. I
Pelican Riding a Bicycle (Foundational)
The earliest accession in the canonical set. Establishes the formal vocabulary on which all subsequent specimens build: a single pelican, a single bicycle, and a relationship between them.
The Pelicans Riding Bicycles Enthusiasts Club
A standards body for pelicans riding bicycles.
The Collection
Seven specimens, presented in order of accession.
Specimen No. II
Pelican Riding a Bicycle, Second Iteration
Demonstrates the maturation of the corpus's central concerns. The committee notes a confident treatment of the beak; wheel-count remains nominal.
Specimen No. III
Pelican Riding a Bicycle, Third Iteration
Notable for its restraint. The committee draws particular attention to the saddle interface, which is rendered with a clarity uncommon in the field.
Specimen No. IV
Pelican Riding a Bicycle, Fourth Iteration
A confident continuation of the series. The pelican's posture has been described, in committee, as 'unambiguously cyclical.'
Specimen No. V
Pelican Riding a Bicycle, Fifth Iteration
Departs in technique from earlier specimens while preserving the corpus's foundational commitments. Approved for inclusion by the Curatorial Committee after the customary period of deliberation.
Specimen No. VI
Pelican Riding a Bicycle, Sixth Iteration (Mountain Variant)
The committee notes the specimen's distinctive personal styling — the pierced beak, the leather jacket — and the consequent compromise to its aerial faculties. The mount, in keeping with the specimen's evident disposition, is a mountain bicycle. The corpus is broadened.
Specimen No. VII
Pelican Riding a Bicycle in Space
The most recent accession. The committee finds, after due consideration, that a pelican remains a pelican regardless of the gravitational regime in which it is rendered. The same is held to be true of the bicycle. The corpus's operational theatre is hereby extended from terrestrial to orbital and deep-space conditions.
On the Corpus
The collection assembled above is the result of an exhaustive comparative review undertaken by the Curatorial Committee. Hundreds of candidate works were considered; seven were judged to meet the threshold for accession. The corpus is intentionally small. It is intended to be authoritative rather than comprehensive.
Submissions for accession review are accepted on a continuous basis. Those who believe they are in possession of a candidate specimen are warmly directed to the Contributing page, which sets out the prevailing accession procedure.
