Guide to the Papers of Daniel Solander (as filmed by the AJCP)
M2540 - M2554
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Created: 2019
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Solander, Daniel
- Title
- Papers of Daniel Solander (as filmed by the AJCP)
- Date Range
- 1769-[c.1810]
- Collection Number
- M2540 - M2554
- Extent
- 127 items
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- Australian Joint Copying Project
- Sponsor
- The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) online portal was created with the assistance of the Australian Public Service Modernisation Fund, 2017-2020. The National Library of Australia gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the other foundation AJCP partners, the State Library of New South Wales and The National Archives of the UK, and all other organisations which supported the work of the AJCP, the world's most extensive collaborative copying project, operating from 1948 to 1997.
Introduction
Scope and Contents
The papers comprise descriptions and lists of plants, fishes, birds and other fauna collected by Banks. There are also lists of species collected on Cook's other voyages.
(Sol.Z8) 'Slip catalogue containing descriptions of animals in the British Museum and other collections, including species collected by Solander, some during Cook's first voyage.' 27 volumes, 4842 sheets
The slip catalogue was originally kept as loose sheets in Solander boxes but is now bound on guards. Some slips appear to have been mislaid when they were kept loose. There are thirteen slips describing as many shells of the genus Tellina in the collection of the Linnean Society of London which clearly belong to the Mollusca volumes in the British Museum (Natural History).
(164 sheets)
Marshall (1978) identified the handwriting of Joseph Banks, Sigismund Bacstrom, Herman Diedrich Spöring, Amanuensis B, and Amanuensis E, as well as Solander, in various volumes of the Slip Catalogue.
The Endeavour material is indexed by Alwyne Wheeler Catalogue of the Natural History drawings commissioned by Joseph Banks on the Endeavour voyage, 1768-1771, held in British Museum (Natural History). Pt. 3. Zoology. Bulletin of British Museum (Natural History) Hist. series 13 (1986). 171p.
Conditions Governing Access
Available for Access.
Conditions Governing Use
Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.
Preferred Citation
Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.
Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.
Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)
Archival History
Material selectively filmed at the Botany and Zoology Libraries, British Museum (Natural History),London, as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project, 1989 (AJCP Reels:M2540-M2554). Original microfilm digitised as part of the AJCP Online Delivery Project, 2017-2020.
Note on Arrangement
Solander's manuscripts and letters have been catalogued by Judith A Diment and Alwyne Wheeler, Catalogue of the Natural History Manuscripts and Letters by Daniel Solander (1735 - 1782) or attributed to him in British collections.
Archives of Natural History (1984) Vol. 11 No. 3 pp457-88
The arrangement, titles and reference numbers assigned to the manuscripts by Diment and Wheeler in their article have been followed in this list of Solander's Australasian related material, and users are advised to refer to it.
The titles of the manuscripts have been transcribed exactly as written (but are not necessarily Solander's titles). Where a title is lacking or incomplete and information has been supplied by Diment and Wheeler this is enclosed in square brackets. Several manuscripts included are attributed to Solander, in some cases incorrectly, while others are fair copies of manuscripts, some of which no longer exist (or are unknown). Because these are attributed to him, or at least associated with his work, they are included. The attribution of handwriting in these copies is based on the work of Marshall1, who made a detailed study of the handwriting of Solander's manuscripts.
Each separate manuscript is listed with a serial number but where several are bound into a single volume the individual items are differentiated by a letter in addition to the number (thus 2a, 2b). The zoological manuscripts had been numbered previously for cataloguing purposes and as these numbers have been cited by several authors they are also given here.
J.B. Marshall. The handwriting of Joseph Banks, his scientific staff and amanuenses. Bulletin of British Museum (Natural History) (Bot. Series). (1978). Vol. 6 Nos. 1-85.
Existence and Location of Originals
Botany and Zoology Libraries, British Museum (Natural History),London, England.
For more information see Daniel Solander at the Botany and Zoology Libraries of the British Museum (Natural History) (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/departments-and-staff/library-and-archives.html).
Existence and Location of Copies
The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2303227] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.
Finding-aid Notes
This finding aid is a revised online version of the original finding aid prepared by the Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP), published by the National Library of Australia in 2019. The original AJCP finding aids were unpublished typescripts or photocopies available from libraries that held copies of the original microfilm.
Dates used in this finding aid refer to the date range of the records selected for filming rather than to the date range of the Series or Files.
Subjects
Australia; Banks, Sir Joseph; Birds; Botany; Cook, James, Capt.; Fish and fisheries; Great Britain; Maori; New Zealand; Naturalists; Solander, Daniel C.
Bibliography
Originally cited in Australian Joint Copying Project Handbook. Part 8: Miscellaneous (M) Series. Third Edition, published 1998. Entry 423, p166.
Biographical / Historical
Daniel Solander (1733 - 1782) was born on 19 February 1733 at Pitea in Norrland, Sweden, son of the Rev. Carl Solander. In July 1750 he enrolled at the University of Uppsala and studied languages and humanities. He also studied natural history under the Uppsala Professor of Botany, Linnaeus. It was Linnaeus who advised him to go to England, where he arrived in June 1760 with letters of introduction to John Ellis and Peter Collinson. On the recommendation of Collinson he was appointed to catalogue the natural history collection of the British Museum. In 1764 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society.
He was invited by Joseph Banks to join the scientific staff of the Endeavour in 1768.
After their return to England in 1771 Solander became Bank's secretary and librarian, making further expeditions with him to the Isle of Wight, Scotland and Iceland. He was also appointed Keeper of Natural History at the British Museum. He died on 13 May 1782.
Solander's early death prevented the publication of the natural history results of Cook's voyage and of his work at the British Museum, but he left a large number of manuscripts. The majority are held at the British Museum (Natural History) in the Botany and Zoology Libraries. The following institutions also hold Solander manuscript material:
The Linnean Society
British Library
Royal Society
School of Oriental and African Studies
Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Item Descriptions
Fonds A. British Museum (Natural History) Botanical Manuscripts, April 1769 - 1982
84 itemsSeries 1-20. Cook's First Voyage, April 1769 - 15 January 1771
36 itemsArchival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reels M2540-M2541.
The original descriptions and systematic lists of the plants collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander during Captain Cook's first voyage 1768-1771, April 1769 - 15 January 1771 (File 1 - 15)
36 itemsDaniel Solander made detailed descriptions, in Latin, of the plants collected on the voyage. The plants collected by Banks and Solander at each landfall were placed in chests with damp cloths to keep them fresh while Solander studied and described them, and Sydney Parkinson drew them. The earliest descriptions are for the plants collected at Tierra del Fuego. The descriptions of the plants collected at Madeira and Brazil were possibly entered directly onto slips for the Slip Catalogue as there are no separate volumes of descriptions for these localities. The arrangement within the volumes is not systematic; it is in the order in which the plants were collected and described. Various systematic and alphabetical indexes were added by Solander. In addition Solander used these descriptions for making entries to his Manuscript Slip Catalogue. This catalogue was arranged systematically according to Linnaean classification and these slips provided the basis for the second series of manuscripts known as 'Primitiae Florae' [See nos. 16-19] which are arranged systematically. The manuscripts containing Solander's original descriptions are as follows:
Filmed selectively.
'Plantae Otaheitenses'. (196p.), April 1769 - July 1769 (Item 2a)
Detailed descriptions of the plants collected at Tahiti, Society Islands. On the verso of the title page and the following six pages is a glossary of Polynesian terms.
'Plantae Ins. Ocean Pac' [Plantae Insularum Oceani Pacifici] (32p.), April 1769 - August 1769 (Item 2b)
Detailed descriptions of the plants collected at the Society Islands. In addition to Tahiti the Endeavour also visited the islands of Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea, and Tahaa.
'Index Specimiminum Plantarum Insulae Othaheitensis' (23p.), [1769] (Item 2c)
This is an alphabetical index of the plants collected at Tahiti. The page reference to the description in 'Plantae Otaheitensis' is given as well as a record of the number of specimens collected for each species. The manuscript is in Solander's and H.D. Sporing's handwritings.
'Index Speciminum Plantarum Insulae Otaheite reliquarumque Insularum Oceani Pacifici', [1769] (Item 2d)
This is an alphabetical list of the plants collected at Tahiti and neighbouring islands, and serves as a combined index to 'Plantae Otaheitensis' (2a) and ['Plantae Insularum Oceani Pacifici'] (2b). It includes all the information from 'Index Speciminum Plantarum Insulae Otaheitensis' (2c). It also gives the page reference for the descriptions in ['Plantae Insularum Oceani Pacifici'], the common name of the plant for some species and the number of specimens collected. Plants that were illustrated by Sydney Parkinson are denoted by a tick.
This manuscript is in H.D. Sporing's handwriting.
'Catalogus Plantarum Insulae Otahaite' (15p.), [1769] (Item 2e)
This catalogue lists the plants collected at Tahiti, it is arranged in the same order as the descriptions in 'Plantae Otaheitensis', which is probably the sequence in which the plants were collected. The page number of the description in 'Plantae Otaheitensis' is given as well as the common name of the plant.
'Numbers of the Books that contains the South Sea Plants and what Plants in each Book' (9p.) (Item 2f)
This is a catalogue of the contents of the numbered bundles of dried specimens as they were taken back to England. Fifty bundles of specimens are recorded in this list. This manuscript has been written from the back to the front of the book.
'Vol. (1.) Plantae Australiae' [New Zealand Volume 1]. (209p.), 8 October 1769 - 14 November 1769 (Item 3a)
Detailed descriptions of the plants collected in North Island, New Zealand. The localities and dates are recorded on the back of the title page and include Poverty Bay or Teoneroa, Araura Bay, Tolaga or Tolago Bay, Mercury Bay or Opoorage.
'Vol. II. Plantae Australiae' [New Zealand Volume 2]. (129p.), 29 November 1769 - 30 March 1770 (Item 3b)
Detailed descriptions of the plants collected in New Zealand. The localities and dates are recorded on the back of the title page and include in North Island: Hauraki Gulf, Bay of Islands visiting Motuarohia Island, Moturua Island and the mainland of the Bay. In South Island the localities include Queen Charlotte Sound and Admiralty Bay.
'Index Plantarum Australiae' [New Zealand]. (32p.) (Item 3c)
This is an alphabetical index of the plants collected in New Zealand. It serves as a combined index to the descriptions in both volumes of 'Plantae Australiae'. The page reference to the description in 'Plantae Australiae' is given as well as a record of the number of specimens collected for each species. The localities are recorded in an abbreviated form and plants which were drawn by Parkinson are denoted by a tick. The number of the bundle in which the plant was taken back to England is also recorded. The alphabetical arrangement in this index is not always correct.
'Numerus Librorum Plantae Novae Zelandiae' (?) (9p.) (Item 3d)
Catalogue of the contents of the numbered bundles of dried specimens as they were taken back to England. The last few pages, Books XLVIII-LXIII of this manuscript are in the handwriting of Joseph Banks.
Plantae Novae Hollandiae. Vol. 1.' [Australia Volume 1] [ii]. (1-160p.), 28 April 1770 - 23 May 1770 (Item 4)
Detailed descriptions of the plants collected in Botany Bay, New South Wales and Bustard Bay, Queensland by Banks and Solander. The localities and dates are recorded on the verso of the title page. Descriptions of the plants from Botany Bay are on pages 1-107 and from Bustard Bay on pages 108-160.
Plantae Novae Hollandiae. Vol. 2.' [Australia Volume 2] [ii]. (161-300p.), 29 May 1770 - 3 August 1770 (Item 5)
Detailed descriptions of the plants collected in Queensland by Banks and Solander. The localities and dates are recorded on the verso of the title page and include Bay of Inlets, Great Palm Island, Cape Grafton, Rocky Point, and Endeavour River.
Plantae Novae Hollandiae. Vol. 3.' [Australia Volume 3]. [ii]. (301-468p.), 14 June 1770 - 3 August 1770 (Item 6)
Detailed descriptions of the plants collected by Banks and Solander at Endeavour River, Queensland. The locality and dates are recorded on the verso of the title page. A Solander Slip is bound between pages 314-315.
Plantae Novae Hollandiae. Vol. 4.' [Australia Volume 4]. [ii] . (469-632p.), 14 June 1770 - 23 August 1770 (Item 7a)
Detailed descriptions of the plants collected by Banks and Solander in Queensland. The localities and dates are recorded on the verso of the title page and include Endeavour River 14 June-3 August, Lookout Point and Cape Fear Islands 10-12 August, Possession Island, Torres Straits 21 August, Booby Isle, Torres Straits 23 August.
'Index Plantarum Novae Hollandiae.' [Australia]. [iv] (67p.) (Item 7b)
This is a systematic index arranged in Linnaean classes of all the plants collected in Australia. It includes the name of the plant, the page reference for the description in 'Plantae Novae Hollandiae', the number of specimens collected and the locality. Plants which were drawn by Parkinson are denoted by a tick. Following the title page is a list of Linnean Classes with the number of species collected.
'Flora Novae Guinea.' (2p.), [1770] (Item 7c)
This is a list of thirty-eight New Guinea plants in the handwriting of Joseph Banks.
'Index Plantarum Novae Hollandiae.' [Australia]. (32p.) (Item 7d)
An alphabetical index of the plants described in 'Plantae Novae Hollandiae' Volume 1 only. It includes the name of the plant, the locality, the number of specimens collected and the page reference for the description in 'Plantae Novae Hollandiae'. This is in the hand of Solander, not of Sporing as Marshall (1978) suggested.
Plantae Novae Hollandiae' [Australia]. (23p.), [1770] (Item 7e)
Catalogue of the contents of the numbered bundles of dried specimens as they were taken back to England.
Plantae Novae Hollandiae' [Australia Volume 1]. (275 leaves) (Item 8)
Transcription of Daniel Solander's manuscript in the handwriting of Amanuensis A and Amanuensis B (see Marshall, 1978). The first 12 leaves are a modern alphabetical index, this is a combined index for volume 1 and volume 2.
'[Plantae Novae Hollandiae]' [Australia Volume 2]. (284 leaves) (Item 9)
Transcription of Daniel Solander's manuscript in the handwriting of Amanuensis B.
The first twelve leaves are a modern alphabetical index. In both of these volumes James Britten has pencilled in the published names of the plants next to Solander's manuscript names.
'Plantae Javanenses' (179p.), 2 October 1770 - 15 January 1771 (Item 11a)
Detailed descriptions of the plants collected in Java by Banks and Solander. The localities and dates are recorded on the verso of the title page and the recto of the back cover and include Anjer, Duizend eilanden, Djakarta, Kuyper eiland, and Prinsen-eiland.
'Index Plantarum Javanensium'. (72p.), [1770-1771] (Item 11b)
This is a systematic index arranged in Linnaean classes of all the plants collected in Java. It includes the name of the plant, the number of specimens collected and locality and the page reference to the description in 'Plantae Javanenses'. Plants which were drawn by Parkinson are denoted by a tick. The last four pages are a modern alphabetical index in another hand.
'Catalogue of the plants collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander at Madeira, Brazil, Tierra del Fuego and the Society Islands arranged for each locality in the order of Linnaeus's Species Plantarum' ed. 2, 1762. (31p.) (File 15)
This manuscript is in Joseph Bank's handwriting.
'Islands' [i.e. Society Islands.] (p.24-31) (Item 15d)
This manuscript includes only the names of the plants which have been listed in systematic order. References to the second edition of Linnaeus's Species Plantarum, (1762-63) are given to all previously published species. Also given is the number of the bundle in which each specimen was placed and the number of specimens collected.
This catalogue probably represents an intermediate stage between the volumes of original descriptions and the 'Primitiae Florae'. Systematic indexes for the other localities (i.e. Australia, Java, Cape of Good Hope,and St. Helena) are found with the relevant volumes of original descriptions, but there is no systematic index for the New Zealand plants. This volume was originally bound with various catalogues of bundles of dried specimens (Numbers 3d, 7e, 11c, 26i and 14c) which have been rebound with the relevant volumes of original description, as suggested by James Britten in 1918 (see Marshall, 1978: 11). It was catalogued in the Catalogue of the Books, Manuscripts and Drawings in the British Museum (Natural History) (1903-40) as: ['Manuscript lists of Plants collected during Capt Cook's first voyage, in the order in which they were placed in the drying books for carriage home'.]
'Floras of the countries visited during Captain Cook's first voyage compiled from Daniel Solander's manuscripts', October 1769 - March 1770 (File 16-19)
Solander described the plants collected on the Endeavour voyage in the order in which they were collected as detailed in entries numbers 1-14. He then compiled systematic indexes for these plants as well as writing up the descriptions on slips for his manuscript slip catalogue. The plants collected at Madeira and Brazil only have entries in the slip catalogue, there are no volumes of descriptions for them. Perhaps because of the small numbers of plants involved Solander wrote these descriptions directly onto slips. The descriptions of the plants collected at Tierra del Fuego, Society Islands and New Zealand were all written onto slips, this is indicated in the volumes concerned by vertical lines of black ink on the Tierra del Fuego volume and vertical lines of red ink in the Society Islands and New Zealand volumes. Very few descriptions of the plants collected in Australia, Java, the Cape or St Helena were transferred to slips.
The floras, are all very carefully and beautifully written and they all follow the same style of presentation. They are arranged systematically according to the second edition of Linnaeus's Species Plantarum (1762-63). The pagination is continuous throughout the five manuscripts and they are all written on Whatman paper. Equivalent manuscripts for the remaining localities visited i.e. Australia, Java, Cape of Good Hope, and St. Helena, were never compiled probably because the manuscript slip catalogue entries were never written for these regions. This is probably a result of the adverse conditions, sickness, and the loss of life experienced on the second half of the voyage.
Filmed selectively.
'Primitiae Florae Insularum Oceani Pacifici sive Catalogus Plantarum in Otaheite, Eimeo, Otaha, Huaheine and Ulaietea A.C. MDCCLXIX, diebus 13 Aprilis - 9 Augusti collectarum.' (186p.) (Item 18)
This manuscript flora includes Solander's descriptions of the plants collected at the Society Islands from April to August 1769. Solander copied his original descriptions (see Nos. 2a and 2b) onto slips and rearranged them systematically. These were then copied by an amanuensis, on the voyage, to produce this flora. Marshall (1978) has identified the handwriting as that of Bank's secretary H.D. Sporing.
The last five pages are a more recent, incomplete index in another hand.
'Primitiae Florae Novae Zelandiae sive catalogus Plantarum in Eahei No Mauwe & Tavai Poenammoo diebus 8 Octobris - 31 Martii A.C. MDCCLXIX & MDCCLXX collectarum' (242p.), October 1769 - March 1770 (Item 19)
This manuscript flora includes Solander's descriptions of the plants collected in New Zealand. Solander copied his original descriptions (see Nos. 3a and 3b) onto slips and rearranged them systematically. These were then copied by an amanuensis to produce this flora. Marshall (1978) considers that the handwriting is that of Sigismund Bacstrom who was employed by Banks, after the voyage from 1772-1775.
The last seven pages are a more recent index in another hand.
'Commencement of a systematic enumeration of the plants collected on Captain Cook's first voyage 1768-1771' (33 leaves) (File 20)
This manuscript includes transcriptions of plants from all the collecting localities on the Endeavour voyage that come within Classis I of the Linnaean System (Monandria Monogyna) and for some of the plants in Classis II (Diandria Monogyna). It is in the handwriting of Daniel Solander, Sigismund Bacstrom, and Jonas Dryander.
Probably a complete enumeration was envisaged for all of the plants collected on Cook's first voyage but it was never completed. Marshall (1978) notes that Britten wrote the word Java on the title page as he misinterpreted this manuscript as being concerned only with the plants of Java.
Series 26-27. Cook's Third Voyage, 1776 - 1780
13 itemsIncludes:
'List of plants collected during Captain Cook's third voyage 1776-1780 in the order in which they were placed in the drying books for carriage home.' (40p.)
'Plantae Insulae Desolationis [Kerguelen Islands]' (2p.)
'Plantae Terra Diemen. [Tasmania].' (4p.)
'Plantae Novae Zelandiae. [New Zealand].' (5p.)
'Plantae Insula Modoo'. (1p.)
'Plantae Insularum Otakoo taca and Palmerston. [Northern Cook Islands].' (1p.)
'Plantae Insula Amicorum [Friendly Islands].' (8p.)
'Plantae Insularum Societatis. [Society Islands].' (9p.)
'Plantae in Terra Tzutski collectae [Eastern USSR].' (1p.)
'Plantae Kamtschatkenses. [Kamchatka].' (4p.)
'Macao'. (1p.)
'Plantae in Pulo Condore lectae. [Vietnam].' (3p.)
'Seeds from the South Sea 1780'. (7p.)
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2541.
Series 28-30. 'Manuscript Slip Catalogue
26 itemsIncluding descriptions of plants, written on slips of paper and systematically arranged, the Phanerogams and vascular cryptogams in accordance with Willdenow's edition of Linnaeus's Species Plantarum (1797-1810), the cellular cryptogams by Reichard's edition of that work (1779-1780). The slips now bound in 24 volumes, were originally kept in small Solander cases, and designed to form a complete catalogue of the species of plants then known.'24 vols
The Slip Catalogue includes detailed descriptions in Latin of genera and species of plants held in the herbarium of the British Museum (Natural History). Solander was employed at the British Museum from 1763 until his death in 1782. The first five years of this period he was mainly employed in cataloguing the specimens of the Natural History Department. He catalogued many of the specimens in the Sloane Herbarium and these slips are annotated by capital letters MB HS (Museum Britannicum Herbarium Sloaneanum). Solander also wrote slips for many of the plants collected on Cook's first voyage 1768-1771 including those from Madeira, Brazil, Tierra del Fuego, Society Islands and New Zealand. There are also a few slips for the plants from Australia, Java and the Cape of Good Hope. From 1771 to 1782 Solander acted concurrently as Curator-Librarian to Banks, as well as being Keeper in the British Museum and catalogued many of the plants in the Banksian Herbarium. Marshall (1978) made a study of the Slip Catalogue and has identified the handwriting of Joseph Banks, Sigismund Bacstrom, Herman Diedrich Sporing, Jonas Dryander, Amanuensis B, Amanuensis C and Amanuensis E.
The slips are arranged systematically for the Phanerogams and vascular cryptogams according to Willdenow's edition of Linnaeus's Species Plantarum (1797-1810) and the cellular cryptogams by Reichard's edition of that work (1779-1780). The names of the genera and the page numbers referring to these works are in most cases written sideways on the left hand side of the slips. The slips were originally loose in 57 Solander boxes and later were bound in 24 volumes as follows:
Volume No.
Page Ref to the interleaved copy of Willdenow's edition of Species Plantarum.
Linnaean Classes
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2541-M2548.
Solander slips transcribed by S. Bacstrom, and arranged in alphabetical order (File 28. Volume [XXIV])
'Index to the Solander Manuscript Slip Catalogue.' (86p.) (File 29)
This index is arranged by the generic names given in the interleaved and separately paginated copy of the 4th edition (Willdenow) of Linnaeus's Species Plantarum Volumes 1-5 (1797-1810) for the Phanerogams and Vascular Cryptogams, and by Volume 6 of Reichard's edition of that work (1779-1780) for the cellular Cryptogams. Some additional names have been included and these seem to be of Australian genera, many of them being names published by Robert Brown in his Prodomus Florae Novae Hollandiae (1810).
This index was prepared by an amanuensis (J) many years after Solander's death.
A few generic names published in Species Plantarum are unaccountably absent as are most of Solander's unpublished manuscript names.
Series 31-39. Miscellaneous, 28 June 1775 - August 1776
3 itemsArchival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2548.
'Catalogue of the botanical drawings in the Library of Sir Joseph Banks.' (75 leaves) (File 31)
This is a catalogue of the botanical drawings in the collections of Sir Joseph Banks, arranged according to the Linnaean system. It was written out by Sigismund Bacstrom not later than 1775. There are insertions and corrections by Daniel Solander and Jonas Dryander. The largest part of the collection are the drawings commissioned by Banks on Cook's first voyage. This is probably the reason that James Britten labelled the spine of the volume 'Solander, Catalogue of Drawings of Plants of Cook's First Voyage 1768-1771'. It has been described in this way also by later workers. The catalogue also includes drawings of plants from Iceland, Isle of Wight, and Jamaica as well as drawings of cultivated plants. The catalogue includes the manuscript plant name and the area of collection (e.g. Novae Hollandiae). The drawings from Cook's first voyage from which copper plates were prepared have the names of the engravers written against them in Daniel Solander's handwriting. Symbols also show the finished or unfinished states of the drawings and engravings and the medium used in the drawing (i.e. pen, pencil or water-colours).
'Descriptions of plants from various parts of the world' (219 leaves) (File 32)
This is a transcript of some of Solander's descriptions of plants contained in his Manuscript Slip Catalogue. Marshall (1978) has identified the handwriting as that of Herman Diedrich Sporing. Sporing accompanied Banks and Solander as secretary on Cook's first voyage. The transcript includes Solander's descriptions of plants contained in various Horti Sicci in the Sloane Herbarium. From South Africa the collections of Desmarets and Kiggelaer are included, and from North America the collections of Bartram, Catesby, Ellis, Garden, Jones and Vernon. Solander's determination labels for the plants described are in the various Horti Sicci mentioned - Marshall noticed that many of the slips in Solander's catalogue that describe plants contained in the Sloane Herbarium have a symbol that looks like the capital letter L occurring about halfway down the left hand side. He considers that the descriptions on these marked slips are those that have been copied out by Sporing. The transcript also includes short diagnoses copied from contemporary publications such as Plukenet's Opera Omnia Botanica and the 1753 and 1762-63 editions of Linnaeus's Species Plantarum.
The last four pages are a modern index in another hand. The rectos are largely blank.
'Solander letters to Joseph Banks' (File 39)
7 itemsThese are copies of letters made for Dawson Turner in 1833-34. Vol. I 1766-80.
Filmed selectively.
Receipt of letters from Captain Cook with news of his voyage, 28 June 1775 (Item f.91-92)
Man overboard off New Zealand; New Caledonia is a paradise, new plants and animals noted by Forster.
Captain Cook has arrived home with some birds for Banks, Pacific Islands visited, note of friendliness or hostility of the natives, (1?) August 1775 (Item f.93-4)
Visits to Resolution; shown New Zealand head 'of which 2 or 3 slices were broiled and eat on board ship', 14 August 1775 (Item f.95-6)
Fonds B. Zoological Manuscripts, 1768 - 1771
41 itemsSeries 40-42. Cook's First Voyage, 1768 - 1771
9 itemsArchival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2549.
'Original descriptions of fishes and other animals obtained on Cook's First Voyage, with notes from the Iceland Voyage.' (382p.) (File 40 (Sol. Z1))
5 itemsThis contains five mss in one volume each incompletely numbered for folios. The whole has recently been continuously paginated to include all bound-in notes. Titles of each part are cited below. The notes are in chronological order, with references to drawings and in 40a and 40c indexes giving information on the number of specimens preserved, the 'cagg' (keg) in which they were preserved, and the serial numbers of the specimens.
Filmed selectively.
'Pisces Australiae'. 54 numbered folios; (p.1-76) (Item 40a)
Mostly concerned with the fishes of New Zealand but p.59, in pencil, describes Pelecanus leucogaster, and p.62-75 are an index and list of specimens collected. This index is in the hand of Herman Diedrich Sporing (Marshall, 1978).
'Pisces etc. Novae Hollandiae'. 19 numbered folios; (p.77-106) (Item 40b)
Contains descriptions of Australian fishes (mostly), birds (p.79 Falco vidua), 'Insecta' (p.88-89 Cancer), and Amphibia. The 'Amphibia' described are sharks, rays, and bony fishes which were classed in Linnaeus's group Amphibia Nantes (1766).
'Pisces and Anim. caetera Oceano Pacifici'. (148 + 7 numbered folios; p.107-298) (Item 40c)
Most of this manuscript concerns fishes but P.108 has a vocabulary on a slip and p.111-112 concerns birds (pencil notes), p.261-267 are on birds; p.271-2 is a vocabulary (pencil), p.279 is a vocabulary on birds and fishes; p.285-292 form an index to the manuscript and a list of specimens collected. Notes on Tahitian animals run from p.1-248 and p.261-266 (birds); fishes from Ulhietea (=Raiatea) occupy p.249-254. Part of the index is in the handwriting of Sporing (Marshall, 1978).
'Fair copy of descriptions of fishes and other animals obtained on Cook's First Voyage' (File 41 (Sol, Z2))
3 itemsThis copy is in the handwriting of Amanuensis B according to Marshall (1978). It comprises a transcript of the descriptions in the first three manuscripts in the above volume (no. 40), paged separately. The copy omits informal notes, the indexes and lists of specimens.
'A fair copy of the descriptions of animals observed during Capt. Cook's first voyage.' (512p.) (File 42 (Sol.Z4))
A collection of loose sheets now in a slip case, but only loosely tied together until the 1950s (Marshall, 1978). Marshall claims that many sheets are obviously missing, but there is little evidence to support this. It is, however, incomplete and unfinished and some entries have no relevance to Cook's voyage.
The writing is identified as that of Amanuensis B by Marshall (1978).
The manuscript is composed of Aves (p.1-123), reptiles (p.125-131), Amphibia Nantes (rays, sharks, trigger-fish, etc) (p.133-197), fishes (p.199-277), invertebrates (p.279-511).
Series 43-44. Other Cook Voyages
5 itemsArchival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2549.
'4 MS Catalogues of the Birds in the drawings of J.G.A. Forster (sic) & W.W. Ellis [& Webber] from Capt. J. Cook's second voyage, 1772-75, and third voyage 1776-80.' (folios 46) (File 43 (Sol.Z5))
4 itemsThis title is not an accurate description of the lists as an alternative title by the late A.M. Lysaght makes clear, 'List of Bird Skins in Bank's collection chiefly from his voyage to Newfoundland-Labrador in 1766, from Cook's voyages, and from Masson's journeys in S. Africa in 1772-1775. Cross references to Sol. Cat. refer to the Dryander catalogue of the third voyage drawings'. An abbreviation of this title is given by Marshall (1978) who wrongly cites the manuscript as Sol.Z4.
Marshall identifies the handwriting as that of Jonas Dryander. There is little reason to credit this manuscript to Solander, as it clearly could have been created by Dryander from Solander's and Bank's identifications on the specimens and the drawings.
The four lists are described below but changes in numbering and errors in citation by some authors make their identity confusing.
'List 1' (originally List 3). 'Birds taken from the last Voyage to be carried to the end of Kingfishers.' (Item 43a)
15 numbered pages (some written and all unwritten pages not numbered; many are blank). 28 folios (the last two forming one sheet, verso addressed to J.P. Yeats, No. 15 Oxenden Street, Haymarket).
Species numbered 1-185 but some numbers are omitted.
'List 2' (originally 1). [No title; commences Falco] (Item 43b)
Species 1-121 with numbers missing which, however, appear in List 1 (43a). (10 numbered folios)
'List of specimens of birds, and mammals brought back from Cook's third voyage, with notes on fishes and lists of species but not related to Cook's voyage.' (22p.) (File 44 (Sol.Z6))
A note by A.M. Lysaght with the manuscript identifies the first 16 folios as Dryander's list of birds and mammals from the third voyage with a list of the drawings by Ellis and Webber and the remainder of the manuscript by Solander. A note by J.B. Marshall, however, identifies the whole as by Dryander. Marshall (1978) refers to this manuscript as a 'Catalogue of W.W. Ellis's and J. Webber's Drawings of Birds and Fishes made during Capt. Cook's Third Voyage'. This is not an accurate description.
Folios 1-15 are concerned with birds and 16 lists two mammals, these form the list of the Ellis and Webber drawings. Folios 17-22 contain lists of fishes within various genera, mainly European, and thus have no relevance to the third voyage.
It is questionable whether it should be attributed to Solander as clearly being in Dryander's hand it could be merely a compilation from Solander's labels on specimens, and identifications of drawings.
Series 45 (Sol.Z8). The Slip Catalogue
27 items"Slip catalogue containing descriptions of animals in the British Museum and other collections, including species collected by Solander, some during Cook's first voyage"
The volumes in this series did not have titles but the bindings bear titles on the spines, which are reflected as the file titles for the lower components of this series.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reels M2550-M2554.