A copy based on the Vienna Dioscorides - the earliest surviving illustrated herbal, held in the Austrian National Library, Vienna.

The earliest known herbals date back to early Greece and they have been in permanent use throughout the centuries into the medieval era and beyond. Herbals have predominately been used as texts to assist physicians and botanists in the use and application of remedial ointments and medicines and attempt to describe the medicinal properties of plants and their appearance.

Pedanius Dioscorides was born in Anazarbos (modern day Turkey) and lived in the time of the Emperor Nero in the 1st  Century CE. He was a military man and physician. Painstakingly compiling  information relating to 600 plants, 35 animal products and 90 minerals, he developed his medical treatise which was to become a cornerstone of European botany for two millennia.

Materia Medica

One bound manuscript  volume of 418 hand-painted watercolour illustrations of Pedanius Dioscorides' Materia  Medica. This volume belonged to Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), President  of the Royal Society, and is now housed in the NHM Library. This item is a copy of the great Vienna Dioscorides – an elaborately illustrated herbal designed as a gift to the Byzantine Princess Juliana Anicia in  the 6th Century CE, and sometimes known as the Juliana Anicia Codex. The Juliana Anicia Codex was based on the original ancient Greek text.

The Banks copy’s watermark dates the papers at 1458-1477. The drawings are arranged as in the Vienna Codex, in alphabetical order and are copies of the Vienna Dioscorides, which is vastly more ornate and luxuriously designed. Nevertheless, the Banks copy is an extremely important and rare volume of intrinsic value. The plant drawings are annotated with their Greek name at the top and in a later hand with their Latin name at the bottom of the page.

Bound at the back of the book are a number of sketches of animals and unfinished sketches of people. One unfinished sketch depicts the Princess Juliana Anicia.

Another sketch denotes seven men – renowned medical men of the time, seated in the Hellenistic tradition of philosophers in discussion. The men depicted are (clockwise); Galen, Dioscorides, Nicander, Rufus, Andreas, Apollonius and Crateuas.

There are a number of sketches of the mandrake root - being held up by a woman as a small grey figure. The mandrake plant had mystical significance for the ancient Greeks. Folklore describes how once dug up the mandrake root releases a terrible cry which will kill those who listen. However the mandrake also possesses mythical powers. One legend tells how a starved dog is tied to the partially dug up root and then when fully dug the shriek will kill the dog but spare the human, therefore leaving the human to capture the magical qualities of the plant.

These illustrations are a useful reminder of the transition from superstition and folklore to a more reasoned view of the world and are also symbolic of the development of a growing proto-scientific intelligence in relation to the natural world.

The library also holds other wonderful versions and editions of the Materia Medica.

References:

Collins, M. (2000) Medieval herbals: The illustrative traditions, London: The British Library and University of Toronto Press.

Osbaldeston, T. A.  and Wood, R. P.A. (2000) Dioscorides, de materia medica : a new indexed version in modern English, Johannesberg: Ibidis Press.

By Natalie Bevan - Assistant Librarian

The Library catalogue is available online at www.nhm.ac.uk/library

If you wish to view these or any other items, please contact the library to arrange an appointment library@nhm.ac.uk or 020 7942 5460

Anthropology & Palaeontology

Outline of the geology of the Bohemian Massif : the basement rocks and their Carboniferous and Permian cover / Jan Cháb ... [et al.].

Prague : Czech Geological Survey Publishing House, 2010

P 72S o OUT

A geologist's guide to the Greveniotiki Pindos, Greece / by Anne Ewing Rassios. Athens : Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration, c2011.

P 72X o RAS

Fossil spiders : the evolutionary history of a mega-diverse order / David Penney & Paul A. Selden.

Manchester : Siri Scientific Press, c2011.

P 29 o PEN

Geological landscapes of Britain / Julian Ashbourn

Dordrecht ; London ; New York : Springer, c2011

P 72A q ASH

Exploring variability in early Holocene hunter-gatherer lifeways / edited by Stance Hurst and Jack L. Hofman.

Lawrence, Kan. : [Dept. of Anthropology, University of Kansas], 2010.

A 3 q EXP

Botany

The British arboretum : trees, science and culture in the nineteenth century / by Paul A. Elliott, Charles Watkins and Stephen Daniels.

London : Pickering & Chatto 2011.

635.97 ELL

Atlas of plants distributions and related climate in China / Kangyou Huang, Zhuo Zheng, Rachid Cheddadi.

Hong Kong : China Review Academic Publishers, 2008.

581.54 HUA Q

On this day: 16th July 1861 Frederick William Frohawk was born.

Frederick William Frohawk was born on 16th July 1861 in Norfolk and, following a private school education, worked as a natural history artist.

Today, he is best known for his illustrations of birds and insects, although he also drew many other natural history subjects. Frohawk worked in a variety of mediums including oils, watercolours and pencils. He was also an accomplished lithographer and wood engraver. He was a popular artist for such magazines as The Field as he could easily turn his hand to illustrate a range of subjects.

Argynnis paphia, silver-washed fritillary (NHM ref: 005489)

Plate 31. A Watercolour depicting a caterpillar, chyrsalis and adult silver-washed fritillary butterfly.

For over twenty years he bred every species of British butterfly, and published his observations and illustrations in the classic work The natural history of the British butterflies, 1924. In 1934 he published The complete book of British butterflies and was followed in 1938 by The varieties of British butterflies. He was a Fellow of the Entomological Society of London and became a Special Life Fellow in 1926.

Arygynnis adippe, high brown fritillary (NHM ref: 013782)

Original drawing for Fig. 14, part of plate 13 for 'Natural History of British Butterflies'

Frohawk was employed by Lord Rothschild and the Natural History Museum to illustrate the life histories of British butterflies. These watercolour images were issued as a series of postcards and small booklets.

He died in Surrey on 10th December 1946.

The Library holds collections of his zoological, entomological and ornithological artwork. To see more examples please visit the NHM Picture Library webpage.

For more information on this or other collections held in the Library or to arrange an appointment please contact us on library@nhm.ac.uk or 020 7942 5460

During the past two weeks, a seven strong group of Harvard undergraduate students have had their heads down in the Library working hard to transcribe letters as part of the Wallace Correspondence Project.

Back row L to R (from the viewer's perspective): Eric Chen, Michael Truong, Antone Martinho, Will Murphy

Front row L to R (viewer's perspective): Mary Griffin, Alyssa Botelho, Alex Bradbury

The students are in the UK for a total of eight weeks and are funded by the David Rockefeller International Experience Grants Program (DRIEG). After they finish at the NHM this week they are attending the Harvard Summer Program course called "An exploration of evolutionary biology" at Oxford University.

The students learning first hand about Wallace from Dr George Beccaloni Curator of orthopteroid insects
at the Natural History Museum & Director of the A. R. Wallace Correspondence Project

The Wallace Correspondence Project commenced in October 2010 and aims to finish in October 2013.  For more information about this exciting project visit the Wallace Correspondence Project official website.

Below is an example of one of the letters that Antone had to tackle; it is a good example of some of the problems encountered when transcribing old documents. Not only do you need to get to get to know an individual's handwriting, but you also have to contend with the condition a document may be in. In this case, the letter has been partially burned at some point.

Letter from Alfred Russel Wallace to Fred Birch October 9th (WCP700 /L872) page one and page four.

Transcription

[[p. 1]]      
Brow[MS burned]

Oct. 9th [MS burned]

My dear Fred

I was very plea<sed> to receive yesterday the enclosed letter from the Controller of Customs, in reply to mine of Aug. 17th.  The “conditions specified” were, that about half your time would be free for collecting and I mentioned your el[MS burned] qualifications & that I woul<d> guarantee your integrity, sobriety &c. in any position <of> trust.  His mail goes n[MS burned] [[p. 2]] [MS burned]s [1 word illeg.] next Wednesday so you had perhaps better write to Mr. De Jouge yourself asking him to be so kind as to let you know what the work would be &c.

But as I wrote to the Commissioner of Mines about the Post of Sun-warden, by the next mail (Sept. 2nd.)  I may have a reply from him in a fortnight, & you can very well wait for that, as he [following parenthetical note added above line] (Mr. De Jouge) suggests your  waiting two months, which I suppose [[p. 3]] will suit you very we<ll as> it will give you more time to prepare.  The salary Mr. De Jouge offers is small, but having your board is a great thing, & I presume it includes lodging.

I have just written to the Controller of Customs thanking him for the trouble he has taken, & saying you will write to Mr. [name inserted above line] De Jouge.

I think now, your chance of going out looks very promising and I think you may tell any persons to whom you writ[e] for information, that you rea[MS burned] [[p. 4]] [MS burned] decided to go in a month or two.

Let me know the result of your interview with Mr. Schill as soon as it has taken place.

[1 word illeg.] is up the Esseguibo a little below the Potaro river, & seems to be in a hilly country. I long for you to be there almost as much as if I were going myself!

Yours very sincerely | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

Claudia Cardillo has been volunteering in the Library for one day a week since February 2011. During the rest of the week she works as a member of the  Museum's Visitor Services team and she has worked here for the past two years.

Claudia is working on the Hodgson collection, which consists of about 1,400 pieces of art. She is unlocking the collection by examining each of the individual items and recording all the information about the specimen (if given). She also notes down any issues with its condition (tears, etc.) and any other useful information, such as the artistic techniques used.

"I have a degree in the History of Art, from the University of Naples, Italy, where I am originally from. I love art, and the collection that I am working on is wonderful! I wanted to develop my cataloguing and research skills, as I thought these would be particularly good skills for the future. The Hodgson collection is amazing, and I am really enjoying working in the Library."

Who was Brian Houghton Hodgson (c.1800-1894)

Born in Cheshire in about 1800, Brian Houghton Hodgson studied at the East India Company’s Haileybury College from 1816 –17, before sailing to Calcutta to take up an administrative position with the Company. Unfortunately he suffered from ill-health, and was transferred to Kumaon in the foothills of the western Himalayas to recover. In 1820, he was promoted to the position of Assistant Resident to the Court of Nepal, but finding little to do in Kathmandu, he returned to the bustle of Calcutta. There he was again taken ill, and moved back to Kathmandu, becoming acting Resident and finally Resident of Nepal in 1829 and 1833 respectively. After 23 years of service in Nepal, Hodgson resigned in 1843. Following a short sojourn in England, he returned to India in 1844 and lived in Darjeeling, a town close to the Nepalese border, until 1858 when he returned to England.

Brian Houghton Hodgson

(NHM image reference 037022)

Hodgson’s role as Resident of Nepal was not a demanding one, and so he had plenty of time and the financial resources to undertake a thorough study of the natural history of Nepal. He became fascinated with the culture of Nepal, Himalayan Buddhism, architecture, ethnography and linguistics. He is also considered responsible for the introduction of the Gurkhas into the British Indian Army.

Hodgson had a special interest in the birds and mammals of Nepal and the surrounding Himalayan region. He discovered many new species and wrote more than 140 scientific papers. Hodgson’s zoological papers are particularly interesting as he described the animals’ habits and habitat in great detail. As he was unable to travel freely around Nepal, he relied heavily on the knowledge of local people to provide him with these observations. He also kept a number of wild animals in captivity. Hodgson made vast collections of specimens; over 10,500 specimens were donated to the British Museum.

   Ketupa flavipes (tawny fish owl)

(NHM image reference 037033)

What is the Hodgson Drawings Collection?

Hodgson commissioned thousands of drawings of birds and mammals from Nepalese artists. These artists were trained by Hodgson to paint in the style required for scientific illustration. The drawings accurately depict the natural colours and external anatomy required for scientific identification. Hodgson frequently dissected his specimens to show the skeletal and other anatomical features, and encouraged artists to sketch these extra details on the drawings. He would also frequently add his own detailed comments on the side. Unusually, the names of some of Hodgson’s Nepalese artists are known. Rajman Singh was a Nepalese draughtsman who worked for Hodgson for many years. Some of his drawings were published in articles written by Hodgson in the Calcutta Journal of Natural History and Asiatic Researches. There is one signed bird painting by him in the collection. Another artist who worked for Hodgson was Tursmoney Chitterkar of Nepal, but currently nothing is known about his life.

          Leiothrix argentauris (silver-eared mesia)

(NHM image reference 037039)

Hodgson intended to publish a lavish book on the mammals and birds of Nepal, illustrated with hand-coloured plates. As part of this project he arranged for his collection of drawings to be duplicated, to produce a set suitable for reproduction. Despite Hodgson’s strenuous efforts, the book was never published. A deeply disappointed man, Hodgson disposed of his drawings and specimens to several institutions in England, including the British Museum. In recognition of the size and importance of Hodgson’s collections, the Keeper of Zoology at the British Museum, J. E. Gray, published catalogues of Hodgson’s collections in 1846 and 1863. The British Museum was also the recipient of over 1,400 paintings of birds, mammals, reptiles and fish. These were later transferred to the Natural History Museum.

Petaurista magnificus (Hodgson's giant flying squirrel)

(NHM image reference: 025019)

References and further reading

Cocker, M. & Inskipp, C. (1988) A Himalayan ornithologist: the life and work of Brian Houghton Hodgson. Oxford University Press: Oxford. 89pp.

Hunter, W.W. (1896) Life of Brian Houghton Hodgson. John Murray: London. 390pp.

Gray, J.E. (1846) Catalogue of the specimens and drawings of Mammalia and birds of Nepal and Thibet presented by B.H. Hodgson Esq. to the British Museum. British Museum: London. 156pp.

Gray, J.E. (1863) Catalogue of the specimens and drawings of Mammalia and birds of Nepal and Tibet presented by B.H. Hodgson Esq. to the British Museum. 2nd ed. London. 90pp.

Waterhouse, D. (2004) The origins of Himalayan studies: Brian Houghton Hodgson in Nepal and Darjeeling. RoutledgeCurzon: London.

These books can be found on the Library catalogue.

Want to learn more about volunteering at the Natural History Museum, London?

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Internships

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