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Lysander, Stinson Reliant, PWS-10, any of the Pulaski winged PZL's, the list could go on. The tapered section of the wing has concentrations of lift were the stuts attach (or vise versa if your prefer), with reduced drag and weight of structure in the rest of the wing.
Just like eliptical wings -Spitfire, He112 et c. designers of the day were striving for the last little bit of aerodynamic efficiency as it was understood. Varying the thickness and planform of the wing in such away does bring about greater efficiency, but at the cost of greater complexity.
An elliptical wing is only slightly better than a simple double taper, but not enough to justify the complex forming of skins or the fact that no more than any two ribs are same throughout. The Spitfire is the only mass produced airplane i can think of that actually retained the elliptical planform past the prototype. (Although elliptical wings tips are common yielding many of the benefits at an acceptable cost)
A tapered section wing is more efficient than a straight one, but not enough to justify all the extra work. Certainly not at speeds under 200kts.
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I'm not making it up as I go along, I'm establishing precedent
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