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Library & Archives

August 2012
Hellen Pethers - Library and Archives
2

jessica3.JPG

 

 

 

Like all areas of the Natural History Museum, the Library & Archives are proud to take part in the Volunteer and Work Experience programme.

 

This week we had two new additions to the team, Christina (intership) and Jessica (work experience).

 

Jessica has joined us for two weeks, she is a 16 year old student from St. Michael's Catholic Grammar School, Finchley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In her first four days Jessica has already been busy working on a number projects and getting involved in the work of the other Library & Archives staff.

 

jessica2.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She has been listing and describing birds from two volumes of watercolours from the collection of Margaret Bushby Lascelles Cockburn (1829-1928), an english lady resident of India, until her death at the age of ninety nine.

 

A task she has already completed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition Jessica has been working on an album from a collection of Earth Sciences (specifically palaeontology) themed stamps. As is often the case the stamps were collected and put into country order, so Jessica has been indexing the individual subjects (dinosuars, fossils etc) so that researchers can unlock the collection.

 

jessica1.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

During her stay Jessica will be given the opportunity to learn about the work of different members of the Library & Archives team, as well as attending a Nature Live talk.

 

We hope Jessica enjoys her stay with us, even though she has the dreaded GCSE exam results day during the two weeks!

2607 Views 2 Comments 0 References Permalink Tags: behind_the_scenes_in_the_library, work_experience, margaret_cockburn_(1829-1928)
Louise Clarke - Library and Archives
0


Item of the Month August 2012 - “After watching them on the big screen….” Itstimeusaurus: The Natural History Museum and Jurassic Park

 

This month’s item comes from the Museum Archive and is an example of contemporary material in this collection which documents the work of the Natural History Museum since its earliest days.

PH333002.jpg

 

In 1992, a new dinosaur display was opened by HRH Diana, Princess of Wales which included full-size robotic and static models.  This display proved to be enormously popular not just with the Princess who brought with her two sons William and Harry to the opening but also with the public.

Visitor numbers which were up by 250,000 that year and to this day the dinosaurs gallery is one of the most visited in the Museum.


A year later, in 1993, after the release Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster dinosaur film “Jurassic Park” the Museum’s profile remained on a high, this was no accident as the Museum worked hard to utilise the connections between its dinosaur collections and the film.

 

A file recently accessioned by Museum Archive details how the Museum worked closely with the movie’s producers to create publicity for the Museum and how popularity of the film was used to spark public interest in visiting the Museum and its collections.img020.jpg

 

This Press Office file outlines how the Museum sought to generate this attention, including overviews of Museum press and TV coverage. Meetings were held between The Natural History Museum, MCA Merchandising and Universal International Pictures which resulted in a licensing agreement which saw the Museum as one of the 40 licensees to market Jurassic Park branded merchandise.

 

img021.jpgAdvertising strategies are also discussed and from the file we see how Universal International Pictures agreed to distribute posters on behalf of The Natural History Museum to cinemas within the M25 radius so that the Museum was prominently advertised alongside the film.

 

 

Correspondence concerning themed events, such as lectures given by John Horner, the palaeontologist who inspired the Jurassic Park books, also features here and gives insight into the amount of work undertaken by the Museum’s staff in order to develop an engaging dinosaur and film related programme of public events.

 

      

No blockbuster movie is launched without a star-studded premiere and Jurassic Park’s offered just that. Held in 1993 and organised by the Museum, the premiere was again attended by Museum Patron, HRH The Princess of Wales, and was held in aid of The Natural History Museum and Turning Point, with all proceeds split between the two charities. The post-premier party hosted by Universal International Pictures was held in the Museum’s Central Hall where, according to the file guests were treated to ‘dinosaur themed food’!

 

 

This Press Office file is just one of the recently catalogued archive files that deal with publicity and media communications undertaken by the Museum during the 1990s, if you are interested in discovering more about the history of the Museum and its records please visit Archive webpages or contact the Museum Archive for more information or to arrange a visit. 

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Hellen Pethers - Library and Archives
0

YGMG8-041-31072012.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week the Library & Archives had the pleasure once again, of taking part in the annual Young Graduates for Museums and Galleries programme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We always love the mix of reactions the students give us to the collection they see!

 

 

 

 

Now in its eighth year, the scheme gives a group of 16-18 year old talented and gifted students from inner London, the opportunity to go behind the scenes of major Museum and Galleries in London.

 

 

YGMG8-055-31072012.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those instiututions involved are: the Natural History Museum, Tate, British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum and the Science Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                        They always listen intently and ask lots of questions

 

 

Twenty five students spent their day at the NHM behind the scenes, learning about the interesting work of the scientists and staff, with the hope that it would inspire some to want to work here.

 

At the end of the programme the students are given the opportunity to work at one of the organisations, on a summer internship during the holidays.

 

 

During their visit to the Library & Archives the students were shown examples from our special collections, including an original handwritten page by Charles Darwin from his On the Origin of Species manuscript draft and original artwork by Ferdinand Bauer (1760-1826), from the H.M.S. Investigator expedition to Australia, 1801-1803.

 

YGMG 1.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

We hope they all enjoyed their day, as much as we enjoyed meeting them and showing them some of our gems.

 

Roll on YGMG 2013!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An opportunity to learn about our rich art collection

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Hellen Pethers - Library and Archives
0

Our art gallery 'Images of Nature' will be closed between 3rd - 12th September 2012 inclusively.

 

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

771 Views 0 Comments 0 References Permalink Tags: images_of_nature_gallery
Hellen Pethers - Library and Archives
0

The Library catalogue is available online at Library Catalogue


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

 

Anthropology

 

 

Dissent with modification : human origins, palaeolithic archaeology and evolutionary anthropology in Britain 1859 - 1901 / John McNabb

Oxford : Archaeopress, 2012

A 1A o MCN

 

 

 

Palaeontology

 

 

Dans l'épaisseur du temps : archéologues et géologues inventent la préhistoire / coordonné par Arnaud Hurel & Noël Coye.

Paris : Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, 2011

P 3 o HUR

 

 

 

Stratigraphic paleobiology : understanding the distribution of fossil taxa in time and space / Mark E. Patzkowsky & Steven M. Holland

Chicago ; London : University of Chicago Press, 2012

P 15J p PAT

 

 

 

Moray and Caithness : a landscape fashioned by geology / by Clive Auton, Jon Merritt and Kathryn Goodenough

Perth : Scottish Natural Heritage, 2011

P 72Ab o AUT

 

 

 

The Outer Hebrides : a landscape fashioned by geology / Kathryn Goodenough

Perth : Scottish Natural Heritage, 2007

P 72Ab o GOO

 

 

 

Southwest Scotland : a landscape fashioned by geology / by Andrew McMillian and Phil Stone

Perth : Scottish Natural Heritage, 2008

P 72Ab o MCM

 

 

 

Northeast Scotland : a landscape fashioned by geology / by Jon Merritt & Graham Leslie

Perth : Scottish Natural Heritage, 2009

P 72Ab o MER

 

 

 

Current catalogue of figured types and specimens in the palaeontological collections of the Czech Geological Survey. Vol. 1, 1960-2011 / Petr Budil and Marika Steinová.

Prague : Czech Geological Survey, 2011

P 72S q CES

 

 

 

Basic geological mapping / Richard J. Lisle, Peter J. Brabham and John W. Barnes

Chichester, West Sussex ; Hoboken, NJ : Wiley-Blackwell, 2011

P 89 o LIS

 

 

 

 

 

Botany

 

Concise herb guide / The Wildlife Trusts ; Series Editor: Krystyna Mayer

London : New Holland, 2012.

B 615.10 MAY

 

 

Recnik botanickih morfoloških pojmova / Radiša Jancic ; editor, Dragan M. Škoric.

[Dictionary of the botanical morphological terms]

Belgrade : Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 2010.

B REFERENCE DICT-S JAN

 

 

John Ray's Cambridge catalogue (1660) / translated and edited by P. H. Oswald and C. D. Preston.

London : Ray Society, 2011.

B 92 RAY OSW

 

 

The wild orchids of Hong Kong / Gloria Barretto, Phillip Cribb and Stephan Gale ; with contributions by Karen Barretto, Ruy Barretto and Mark Isaac-Williams ; colour plates and line drawings by John Eyre ... [et al.].

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia : Natural History Publications (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd. in association with Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, 2011.

582.4P169 BAR

 

 

Australian carnivorous plants / Greg Bourke, Richard Nunn.

Poole, Dorset, England : Redfern Natural History Productions, 2012.

B 581.137 BOU Q

 

Entomology

 

Biodiversity of Marganai and Montimannu (Sardinia) : research in the framework of the ICP forests network / edited by = a cura di Gianluca Nardi, Daniel Whitmore, Marco Bardiani, Daniele Birtelle, Franco Mason, Laura Spada, Pierfilippo Cerretti

Verona : Centro Nazionale per lo Studio e la Conservazione della Biodiversita Forestale Bosco Fontana di Verona, 2011

E 72I q NAR

 

 

The hexapod Wizard of the Golden Island, Kingmen National Park / Chang, Yung Jen

Taiwan: Kinmen National Park, 2011

E 73H o CHA Vol. 1 & 2

 

 

Taiwan qiao xing chong / Huiyong Li

Taiwan: Kiss Publication, 2004

E COLEOPTERA L.80 Vol. 1,2 & booklet

  

 

General

 

Cuvier's history of natural sciences : twenty-four lessons from antiquity to the Renaissance / edited and annotated by Theodore W. Pietsch ; foreword by Philippe Taquet ; translated by Abby J. Simpson

Paris : Publications scientifiques du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, 2012.

L 10A o PIE

 

 

Proceedings of the International Symposium Speciation in Ancient Lakes, SIAL III : volume 1, Irkutsk, September 2-7 2002 / edited by Alexei Ivanov ... [et al.].

Berlin : Weinert, 2003

L 10E q IVA

 

 

An historical account of all the voyages round the world, performed by English navigators; including those lately undertaken by order of his present Majesty : the whole faithfully extracted from the journals of the voyagers ... Vol. 2 / David Henry

Milton Keynes : Lightning Source, 2011.

L 70 o HEN

 

 

Le stagioni dei maceri : passato, presente e futuro delle "isole d'acqua" ferraresi = The seasons of the retting pools : past, present and future of the "islands of water" in the Ferrara district / a cura di = edited by Carla Corazza

Latina : Edizioni Belvedere, 2009

L 72I o COR

 

 

The sound of the sky / Daena Murray

[Darwin, N.T.] : Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory ; Darwin, NT : Charles Darwin University Press, 2006

L 77Cb q MUR

 

 

Expedição Langsdorff ao Brasil, 1821-1829.

Rio de Janeiro : Edições Alumbramento : Livroarte Editora, 1988.

L 83 q EKS Vol. 1, 2 & 3

 

 

Mineralogy

 

Amazing agates : Lake Superior's banded gemstone / written by Scott F. Wolter ; illustrated by Rick Kollath

Duluth, MN : Kollath-Stensaas Pub., 2010

M 553.878(77) WOL

 

  

Ornithology (Tring)

 

Das Kompendium der Vögel Mitteleuropas : ein umfassendes Handbuch zu Biologie, Gefährdung und Schutz / Hrsg. von Hans-Günther Bauer ... [et al.] ; unter Mitarb. von Sabine Baumann ... [et al.].

[The compendium of the birds of central Europe: a comprehensive handbook to biology, threat and protection]

Wiebelsheim : Aula, 2012.

ORNITHOLOGY 72 BAU  

      

 

WeBS Alerts III : methodological and presentational considerations / Philip W. Atkinson, Graham E. Austin & Mark M. Rehfisch

Thetford : National Centre for Ornithology, 2012

ORNITHOLOGY S 103 M              

 

  

 

Zoology

 

Living in a seasonal world : thermoregulatory and metabolic adaptations / Thomas Ruf ... [et al.], editors.

Heidelberg ; London : Springer, 2012

Z 13B o RUF

 

 

Web of nature : Martin Lister (1639-1712), the first arachnologist / by Anna Marie Roos

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2011

Z 96A o LIS

 

 

Identification of eggs and larvae of marine fishes / edited by Arthur W.Kendall, Jr.

Hadano : Tokai University Press, 2011

Z FISH 73I IDE

 

 

Field and laboratory methods in primatology : a practical guide / edited by Joanna M. Setchell and Deborah J. Curtis. (2nd edition)

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2011

Z MAMMALS 17H SET

 

 

Dolphin confidential : confessions of a field biologist / Maddalena Bearzi

Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2012.

Z MARINE MAMMALS 17F BEA

 

 

Antiguan shallow-water seashells : a collection with 18 years study and research of shoreline shells from Antigua, West Indies / Deng Yan Zhang

Wellington, Florida : MdM Publishing, 2011

Z MOLLUSCA 35B o DEN

 

 

The Dice Snake, <Natrix tessellata> : biology, distribution and conservation of a Palaearctic species / editor: Konrad Mebert

Rheinbach : Deutsche Gesellschaft für Herpetologie und Terrarienkunde, 2011

Z REPTILES S 286

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Daisy Cunynghame - Library and Archives
0

tring.jpg
                             

The Natural History Museum in Tring, Hertfordshire, was the brainchild of one man – its remarkable founder Walter Rothschild. 

 

Walter was a scientist and collector, as well as museum-founder, and in addition to all this was the eldest son of the Rothschild banking family – therefore having to balance his scientific passion with his familial responsibilities. 

 

 

On his death in 1937 Walter bequeathed his extensive collections and his museum to the nation, and the Natural History Museum as South Kensington has been managing it ever since.

 

 

 

 

 

    Exterior, Tring Natural History Museum

 

 

 

 

The correspondence of Tring Museum, particularly from the time of Walter, is incredibly rich – partially because that museum was so small in comparison to the South Ken museum, and so letter writing was often much less bureaucratic and more informal and discursive.

Interior, Tring Natural History Museum.jpg

                                                                            Interior, Tring Natural History Museum

 

 

 

This correspondence contains letters from wide range of writers - specimen dealers, taxidermists, artists, scientists, publishers and booksellers, museum curators and tradesmen. 

 

Some of the most engaging material though is from the large number of collectors which Walter employed, many of whom travelled the world acquiring specimens for him - writing from all over the globe including jungles, war zones, tropical islands, and prisoner of war camps.  In their letters these collectors would often detail their personal experiences and problems they encountered on their expeditions as much as the scientific detail of the collecting they were carrying out.

 

One particularly fascinating case (although there are many many more) is Edward Baker (1864-1944), a British ornithologist and police officer who worked in Assam, India. Baker was not a professional collector, but sent a great many eggs and birdskins to Tring in the 1890s, and also went on to publish books about the birds of India.

 

 
Letter from Edward Baker.bmp

                         

 

 

His correspondence really shows the close relationships between the Tring Museum curators and collectors out in the field.

It seems that collecting and trading birds with Tring was a way for Baker to stay connected with the ornithological community in Europe, whilst being stationed far away in India.

 

He mentions being quite lonely and often invites one of Walter’s curators to come and visit him (suggesting he stay a whole year!). 

Baker also talks about the size of his collection, and it being the best collection of Indian bird eggs in the world. Sadly enough, later on, however, he does then have to sell his collections as his family grows and he has less time for collecting.

 

Perhaps the most exemplary letter from Baker to the museum, however, is that in 1894 where he begins ‘I don’t think I have written to you since my accident.  I got very badly bitten about the left arm by a leopard & have had to have it taken off in consequence’.

 

 

 

 

 

       Letter from Edward Baker to Tring Museum


This sentence alone would seem to sum up every cliché we hold dear of the Victorian gentleman – stiff upper lip, focussed, utterly blasé about his hardships.  The fact that this is the last mention of this in his letter, and he then goes on to discuss entirely separate matters – as if the loss of an arm is only a very minor incident! – is, if someone of an extreme, perhaps indicative of the dedication of some Victorian scientists!

 

This letter, and a number of others, are on display at the Tring Museum as part of their Daring Explorers exhibition.  This free exhibition runs until 12 November 2012, and tells the story of what life was like for a Victorian collector – where they went, the specimens they collected, and the hardships they faced.

6131 Views 0 Comments 0 References Permalink Categories: Library and Archives Tags: museum_archives, natural_history_museum_tring, edward_baker_(1864-1944)
Hellen Pethers - Library and Archives
0

The Library catalogue is available online at Library Catalogue


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

 

Anthropology

 

The current issues of Paleolithic studies in Asia : proceedings of the International Symposium "The current issues of Paleolithic studies in Asia and contiguous regions" : June 24-30, 2008, Denisova Cave, Altai / edited by A.P. Derevianko, M.V. Shunkov.

Novosibirsk : Publishing Department of the Institute of Archaeology and Enthnography SB RAS, 2008.

A 2 o DER

 

Paleolithic and neolithic of the northern face of the Valley of Lakes / otvetstvennyi redaktor A.P. Derevianko

Novosibirsk : Izd-vo Instituta arkheologii i etnografii SO RAN, 2000.

A 3 q DER

 

 

Palaeontology

 

Geophysical studies in the Caucasus / Lev Eppelbaum, Boris Khesin

Berlin ; New York ; London : Springer, 2012

P 72Z o EPP

 

Upper Paleozoic of marginal seas of Angarida / A.G. Klets

Novosibirsk : GEO, 2005

P 73A q ELK

 

Silurian of the northwestern Siberian Platform / I?U.I. Tesakov ... [et al.]

Novosibirsk : Izd-vo SO RAN, filial "Geo", 2002

P 73A q TES

 

Gletscher der Saale-Kaltzeit am Niederrhein : Untersuchungen zur Petrografie und Leitgeschiebeführung der Stauchmoränen des Niederrheins und deren Anbindung an die Moränen des Münsterlandes / K. Skupin & J. G. Zandstra.

Krefeld : Geologischer Dienst NRW, 2010

P 72L o SKU

 

Botany

Norfolk Island's fascinating flora / Peter Coyne.

Belconnen, A.C.T. : Petaurus Press, 2011.

581.9(938) COY

 

Seaweed biology : novel insights into ecophysiology, ecology and utilization / edited by Christian Wiencke, Kai Bischof.

Berlin ; London : Springer, 2012.

ALGAE 582.26 WIE

 

A botanical journey : the story of the Western Australian herbarium / by Roger Underwood.

Perth : Dept. of Environment and conservation, 2011

58.005 WES UND

 

The flora of the Cairngorms National Park : an annotated checklist / Andy Amphlett

London] : [BSBI], 2012.

BRITISH HERBARIUM 581.9(411) AMP Q

 

A field guide to the Eremophilas of Western Australia / Andrew Brown and Bevan Buirchell.

Hamilton Hill, W.A. : Simon Nevill Publications, 2011.

582.4P123 BRO 

 

Entomology

 

 

Environment-agriculture-sustainable development : Optimization of integrated wheat pest management technologies under the dynamics of agroecological changes in Transylvania

Cluj-Napoca : Editura Argonaut, 2008

E ECON SECT MAL

 

 

General

 

Tidal freshwater wetlands / edited by Aat Barendregt, Dennis F. Whigham and Andrew H. Baldwin

Leiden : Backhuys ; Weikersheim : Margraf, 2009

L 10E q TID

 

Sentinelle di Pietra : i massi erratici dell' anfiteatro morenico di Rivoli - Avigliana / Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino ; coordinamento editoriale - Giorgio Fea

Torino : Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, 2010

L 72I o MUS

 

Biodiversity Atlas of China / Xie Yan, John MacKinnon, Mike Hunter

Chang Sha Shi : Chinese Corporation for Promotion of Humanities, 2009

L 73H q MAC

 

Mari nawi : Aboriginal odysseys 1790-1850 / State Library of New South Wales.

Sydney, N.S.W. : State Library of New South Wales, 2010

L 77C o SMI

 

Influence of advection and sedimentation on linking microbial phosphorus, carbon and nitrogen cycling in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre (LINK) / principal scientist: M.V. Zubkov, editors: P.G. Hill, M.V. Zubkov

Southampton : National Oceanography Centre, 2012

L 80 q INS

 

Il gelso : albero dimenticato nel paesaggio agrario piemontese-- e il suo legame con il baco da seta / a cura di Giancarlo Bounous ... [et al.].

Torino : Museo regionale di scienze naturali, 2011

L 85 o TUR

 

 

Developing research proposals / Pam Denicolo, Lucinda Becker

Los Angeles : Sage, 2012

L 98 o DEN

 

  

Ornithology (Tring)

 

Collections from the Muséum / Muséum national d'histoire naturelle

[Paris] : Éditions du Muséum, c2005.

PAMPHLET BOX 1                       

 

Nest : The art of birds [hardback]. / Janine Burke

Crows Nest, NSW : Allen & Unwin, 2012.

ORNITHOLOGY 3A BUR                        

 

Video surveillance of nesting birds / editors: Christine A. Ribic, Frank R. Thompson III and Pamela J. Pietz

Berkeley : University of California, 2012

EGG RIB         

 

  

 

Zoology

Phylactolaemata i Bryozoa of the continental waters of the continental waters of Eurasia. Tom 1, Faunistics, ecology, zooogeography and evolution of the Phylactolaemata invertebrates and Bryozoans of the continental waters of Eurasia / Anatolii Vinogradov,

LAP LAMBERT, 2011

Z 72Q o VIN

 

Phylactolaemata i Bryozoa of the continental waters of Eurasia. Tom 2, Systematics of the Phylactolaemata and Gymnolaemata Bryozoans of the continental waters of Eurasia. / Anatolii Vinogradov,

LAP LAMBERT, 2011

Z 72Q o VIN

 

The illustrated encyclopedia of animals of the world: an expert reference guide to 840 amphibians, reptiles and mammals from every continent / Tom Jackson, consultant

Wigston : Southwater, 2011

Z REFERENCE 2 JAC

 

A history of pike fishing. Vol. 1 / Graham Booth

[S.l.] : Harper, 2011.

Z FISH 22B o BOO

 

South Asian Mammals : their diversity, distribution and status / Chelmala Srinivasulu, Bhargavi Srinivasulu

New York : Springer Verlag, 2012

Z MAMMALS 73F SRI

 

Amphibians of Suriname / by Paul E. Ouboter, Rawien Jairam

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2012.

Z REPTILES 73Cb OUB

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