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Samuel Richard Tickell (1809-1875)
Samuel Richard Tickell (1809-1875) Samuel Richard Tickell was born at Cuttack, about 100 miles from Calcutta in 1809 or 1811. He was educated in England and returned to India when he was nineteen to serve with the Bengal Native Infantry. He participated in active service in Bengal before transferring to the civil department of the army. He carried out surveying work in Bengal and was promoted to lieutenant. In 1840 he was appointed Assistant Resident in Nepal and resided in Kathmandu until 1843 when he returned to Bengal. In 1847 he was promoted to captain and moved to Burma where he retired from the army in 1865 aged fifty-four. He settled in the Channel Islands and died in Cheltenham in 1875. Tickell’s tours of duty took him through many natural
habitats in India and Burma. He was fascinated by the colourful
wildlife, especially the birds, and was particularly fortunate
in having both the scientific knowledge and personal contacts
to make a real contribution to the natural history of India
in addition to a real talent for painting. He published many
scientific papers and was honoured by having several birds
named after him.
The Tickell Drawings Collection Tickell’s album of Indian birds consists of 41 watercolour paintings plus numerous vignettes in pen and ink, and separate anatomical sketches of beaks and legs in the manuscript notes. His birds are meticulously drawn and painted, as were those of many of his contemporaries, but Tickell’s stand out from most on account of the many original and interesting and varied landscapes that convey a real sense of Indian birdlife. Such attention to detail can only have been attempted by one who was truly dedicated to the study of natural history. Tickell's delightful vignettes are a bonus in this album, depicting scenes of day to day life in rural areas of India such as people going about their work together with their animals on which they were so much dependent. Tickell had intended to publish an illustrated book of the birds of India, based on his own notes and paintings but this never materialised.
Exhibition and publication details This drawings collection has not previously been displayed to the public.
References and further reading Mearns, B. & Mearns, R. (1988) Biographies for birdwatchers. The lives of those commemorated in Western Palaerctic bird names. Academic Press, London. Pp.380-383.
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