Correspondence between Adolphe Brongniart and Robert Schomburgk: trading natural history collections for honours

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-336
Author(s):  
PIOTR DASZKIEWICZ ◽  
MICHEL JEGU
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Dominican Republic ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
British Guiana ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
History Of ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
German Naturalist

ABSTRACT: This paper discusses some correspondence between Robert Schomburgk (1804–1865) and Adolphe Brongniart (1801–1876). Four letters survive, containing information about the history of Schomburgk's collection of fishes and plants from British Guiana, and his herbarium specimens from Dominican Republic and southeast Asia. A study of these letters has enabled us to confirm that Schomburgk supplied the collection of fishes from Guiana now in the Laboratoire d'Ichtyologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. The letters of the German naturalist are an interesting source of information concerning the practice of sale and exchange of natural history collections in the nineteenth century in return for honours.

scholarly journals When commerce, science, and leisure collaborated: the nineteenth-century global trade boom in natural history collections

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Coote ◽  
Alison Haynes ◽  
Jude Philp ◽  
Simon Ville
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Global Trade ◽  
Global History ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Business Logistics ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of

AbstractNatural history products formed an important, but little studied, component of the globalization of trade in the mid nineteenth century. The trade, specifically in zoology, occurred in the face of considerable challenges. It penetrated some of the more remote areas of the globe; its products were heterogeneous and difficult to price; and exchange occurred among scientists, commercial traders, and collectors, each of whom had their own particular practices and mores. This article charts the dimensions of this trade and offers explanations about the ways in which its complexities were addressed through major developments in taxidermy, taxonomy, transport and business logistics, alternative forms of exchange, and trust-based networks. More broadly, our work speaks to current developments in global history, imperial networks, and the history of scientific collecting.

Corrosive sublimate and its introduction as an insecticide for preserving natural history specimens in the eighteenth century

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-41
Author(s):  
Stanislav Strekopytov
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Mercuric Chloride ◽  
Corrosive Sublimate ◽  
Cimex Lectularius ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
History Of

By the mid-eighteenth century, the need to protect zoological and botanical collections from attacks of insects became pressing for the community of naturalists. Living ornamental and economically important plants and their seeds also needed to be protected from insects when transported by sail. John Ellis ( c.1710–1776), one of the pioneers of plant transportation, was instrumental in disseminating the knowledge of insecticidal properties of corrosive sublimate (mercury(II) chloride or mercuric chloride, HgCl2). Although the use of corrosive sublimate for the protection of zoological collections had been proposed by John Woodward (1665–1728) in 1696, it was probably not widely used by naturalists until Ellis had published his Directions for bringing over seeds in 1770, recommending this substance for the protection of living plants, seeds and specimens during transport. Ellis possibly learned about the insecticidal properties of corrosive sublimate from the emerging use of this compound to control bedbugs ( Cimex lectularius). The history of bedbug management in eighteenth-century London, and some early exterminators, including John Southall ( fl.1726–1738), George Bridges ( c.1695–1768) and Thomas Tiffin ( fl.1760–1783), are discussed. Only a few days after the Directions was printed, Ellis asked Thomas Davies ( c.1737–1812) to publish a method of preparing bird skins that involved corrosive sublimate and was probably involved in drafting it. Following these two publications, corrosive sublimate was frequently used for the preservation of natural history collections including bird skins and herbarium specimens.

The Legacy of the ‘Edinburgh Lamarckians’

2019 ◽  
pp. 156-195
Author(s):  
Bill Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Medical Student ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Charles Darwin ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City

The penultimate chapter looks at the longer-term impact of the efflorescence of evolutionary speculation in early-nineteenth-century Edinburgh on later generations of natural historians. First it examines the evangelical reaction against progressive models of the history of life and its role in the eclipse of the ‘Edinburgh Lamarckians.’ Next it examines to the evolutionary theory proposed by Robert Chambers in his anonymously published Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation (1844) to assess its possible debt to the Edinburgh transformists of the 1820s and 1830s. Finally it turns to the important question of the possible influence of the ‘Edinburgh Lamarckians’ on Charles Darwin during his time as a medical student in Edinburgh in the years 1825 to 1827, during which period he rubbed shoulders with many of the key proponents of evolutionary ideas in the city.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Bill Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
Evolutionary Theories ◽  
Evolutionary Thought ◽  
History Of

The introduction sets the scene by exploring the role of Edinburgh as a centre for the development and propagation of pre-Darwinian evolutionary theories. It gives essential background on natural history in the Scottish capital in early nineteenth century and the history of evolutionary thought and outlines the aims and objectives of the book. In addition, it explores some of the historiographical issues raised by earlier historians of science who have discussed the role of Edinburgh in the development of evolutionary thought in Great Britain.

AFRICAN IVORIES AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLISH ANTIQUARIANS

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 ◽  
pp. 347-362
Author(s):  
William Hart
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Fifteenth ◽  
Late Renaissance ◽  
Source Of Information

In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, artists in West Africa made sophisticated ivory carvings specifically for the early Portuguese navigators and their patrons. In researching the history of the ivories, the records of eighteenth-century English antiquarians are a neglected yet important source of information. Such sources help to bridge the gap between the earliest references to Afro-Portuguese ivories in Portuguese customs records (as well as the inventories of royal and princely treasuries of the late Renaissance) and their re-appearance in nineteenth-century museum registers and the collections of private individuals.Especially valuable in this regard are the eighteenth-century minutes of the Society of Antiquaries of London, which enable us to trace the history of several African ivories associated with Fellows of the Society – in particular, Richard Rawlinson, Martin Folkes, Sir Hans Sloane, George Vertue and George Allan. In this article, the author reassesses two African ivories, an oliphant and a saltcellar, with specific reference to the Minutes of the Society of Antiquaries of London, shedding new light on the history of these beautiful objects.

Tracking changes in natural history collections utilization: A case study at the Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany L. Abrahamson
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
University Of New Mexico ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Fields Of Study ◽  
Natural History Collections ◽  
History Of ◽  
Data Source ◽  
History Of Use ◽  
The University

AbstractNatural history collections (NHCs) are used in many fields of study, but general knowledge regarding their uses is poor. Because of this, funding and support for NHCs frequently fluctuate. One way in which collections professionals can illustrate a collection’s contribution to a variety of fields is based on the collection’s history of use. Tracking NHC utilization through time can increase NHC value to others outside of the collection, allow for the analysis of changes in specimen-based research trends, and assist in effective collection management. This case study focuses on NHC usage records held by the Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB), a currently growing university collection used in many research fields, and presents methods for quantifying collections utilization through time. Through an exploration of these data, this paper illustrates MSB’s growth and changes in research produced over time and offers explanations for the changes observed. Last, this study provides suggestions for how collections professionals can most greatly benefit from considering NHC records as a data source. Understanding NHC usage from “the collection’s perspective” provides a new way for NHC professionals to understand NHCs’ value in the context of the research it supports and demonstrates the importance of this key infrastructure to a broader audience.

scholarly journals The Representation of Status in Mande: Did the Mali Empire Still Exist in the Nineteenth Century?

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 87-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Organizational Structure ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Methodological Errors ◽  
Widespread Acceptance ◽  
History Of ◽  
Source Of Information

For the reconstruction of the history of the aftermath of the Mali empire, that is, the period 1500-1800, oral traditions are the only source of information. The history of this period has been reconstructed by Person and Niane. Their work has gained widespread acceptance. In this paper I will argue that these scholars made significant methodological errors—in particular, in interpreting chronology in genealogies, and their reading of stories about invasions and the seizure of power by younger brothers.My reading of the oral tradition raises questions about the nature of both sixteenth- and nineteenth-century Mande (that is the triangle Bamako-Kita-Kankan (see map), the region where the ‘Malinke’ live), and the medieval Mali empire, because I think that Mande royal genealogies have wrongly been considered to represent claims to the imperial throne of the Mali empire. In contrast, my reading of oral tradition suggests in retrospect that the organizational structure of the Mali empire may have been segmentary, and not centralized, ranking between segments under discussion, each group thereby creating a hierarchical image.The conventional wisdom seems to be that the Mali empire collapsed/disintegrated in the period from 1500 and 1800. As Person put it:Dans le triangle malinké, on ne trouvera plus au XIX siècle que des kafu, ces petites unités étatiques qui forment les cellules politiques fondamentales du monde mandingue. Certains d'entre eux savaient faire reconnaître leur hégémonie à leurs voisins, mais aucune structure politique permante n'existait à un niveau supérieur. Beaucoup d'entre eux, dont les plus puissants et les plus peuplés, seront alors commandées par des lignées Kééta qui se réclament avec quelque vraisemblance des empereurs du Mali médiéval.

Book Reviews

1982 ◽  
Vol 138 (4) ◽  
pp. 494-509
Author(s):  
C. Dijk ◽  
M.C. Ricklefs ◽  
L.A. Hoedemaker ◽  
S.C. Graaf van Randwijck ◽  
G.J. Knaap ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Asian Studies ◽  
Field Museum ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
East West

- C. van Dijk, M.C. Ricklefs, A history of modern Indonesia. C. 1300 to the present, London and Basingstoke, The MacMillan Press Ltd., 1981. xii + 335 pp. MacMillan Asian Histories Series. - L.A. Hoedemaker, S.C. Graaf van Randwijck, Handelen en denken in dienst der zending (Oestgeest 1897-1942), 2 delen, Den Haag Boekencentrum, 1981. - G.J. Knaap, Hubert Jacobs SJ, Documenta Malucensia II (1577-1606), annotated by Hubert Jacobs SJ, Monumenta Missionum Societatis Iesu volumen XXXIX, Missiones Orientalis, Rome, Jesuit Historical Institute; 1980, XXXI + 65* + 794 blz. - David S. Moyer, H. Sutherland, The making of a bureaucratic elite; The colonial transformation of the Javanese Priyayi, Asian studies association of Australia, Southeast Asia publication series no. 2, Heinemann educational books (Asia), Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, 1979, xx + 182 pp. - S.A. Niessen, Garrett Solyom, The world of the Javanese Keris, 1978, East-West Centre, Honolulu, Hawaii., Bronwen Solyom (eds.) - S.A. Niessen, Anne Leonard, Patterns of Paradise; The styles and significance of bark cloth around the world, 1980, Field museum of natural history., John Terrell (eds.) - S.A. Niessen, Kirk Endicott, Batek Negrito Religion, 1979, Oxford Clarendon Press. - J. Noorduyn, Olivier Carré, L’Islam et l’état dans le monde d’aujourd’hui, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 1982. 270 p. - H.A. Poeze, Joop Morriën, Indonesië los van Holland. De CPN en de PKI in hun strijd tegen het Nederlands kolonialisme, Pegasus Amsterdam, 1982, 272 pp.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document