Guide to the Records held by the Linnean Society of London (as filmed by the AJCP)
M596-M597
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Created: 2019
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Linnean Society of London
- Title
- Records held by the Linnean Society of London (as filmed by the AJCP)
- Date Range
- 1789 - 1861
- Collection Number
- M596-M597
- Extent
- 126 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
Linnean Society archives.
Macleay correspondence and miscellaneous papers 1805-59.
Correspondence of William Swainson.
Miscellaneous manuscripts
Society for Promoting Natural History records.
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-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-987654321)
Archival History
Filmed at the Linnean Society of London as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project, 1965. (AJCP reel M596-M597). Original microfilm digitised as part of the NLA AJCP Online Delivery Project, 2017-2020.
Existence and Location of Originals
Linnean Society of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, England
For further information see Linnean Society of London Archives (https://www.linnean.org/research-collections/archives).
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-vn593632] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.
Finding Aid Note
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 2018. 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: flora and fauna; Botany: Australia; Linnean Society of London; Linnean Society of New South Wales; Society for Promoting Natural History; Sydney, New South Wales
Bibliography
Originally cited in Australian Joint Copying Project Handbook. Part 8: Miscellaneous (M) Series. Third Edition, published 1998. Entry number 280, page 104.
Biographical / Historical
The Swedish naturalist Carl Linneaus, the author of Systema Naturae, died in 1778. In 1784 a young English medical student, James Edward Smith, purchased from Linneaus's son most of the Linnean private collection of books, manuscripts and natural history specimens. Four years later Smith founded the Linnean Society. In 1802, when the Linnean Society of London received a royal charter, it comprised 228 fellows. Smith was president of the Society from 1788 until his death in 1828.
The Society has been based at Burlington House since 1857. It began publishing its Transactions in 1791, while the Proceedings of the Linnean Society first appeared in 1839. Subsequently it published the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society (1856+) and the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (1856+).
Fellows of the Linnean Society resident in Australia in the nineteenth century included William Archer, George Bennett, Sir Thomas Brisbane, George Everett, Sir John Franklin, Ronald C. Gunn, Sir John Jamison, Phillip P. King, Alexander McLeay, William S. Macleay, Sir Ferdinand von Mueller, John S. Roe, Charles Sturt, George Suttor and Sir Edward Deas Thomson. Fellows resident in New Zealand included Walter Buller, Leonard Cockayne, George W. Francis, T.M. Hocken, Arthur Holroyd, Thomas Kirk, William Swainson and Alexander Turnbull. Other fellows of the Society had some connection with Australia and New Zealand, such as Sir Joseph Banks, Robert Brown, Charles Darwin, Sir Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley and Sir James Clark Ross.
The Linnean Society of New South Wales was founded in 1874, with Sir William Macleay as its first president.
Item Descriptions
Series. Archives of the Linnean Society, 1806 - 1871
12 itemsLetters received from Sir Joseph Banks 1806, James E. Bicheno 1821, Joshua Brookes 1823, Robert Brown 1821, John Lewis 1836 concerning specimens collected by Alexander Collie, Dr John Lhotsky 1839 on a biographical sketch of Ferdinand Bauer, Sir John Eardley-Wilmot 1846 and Rev. William Woolls 1860.
Subjects
Banks, Sir Joseph; Bauer, Ferdinand; Bicheno, James E.; Botany; Brookes, Joshua; Brown, Robert; Collie, Alexander; Eardley-Wilmot, Sir John; Lhotsky, John; Linnean Society of London; Lewis, John; Macleay, Alexander; Woolls, William, Rev.
Sir Joseph Banks to Alexander McLeay, 23 May 1806 (File)
Sends diplomas of Comte de Lacepede and Georges Cuvier.
James Bicheno (Newbury) to Robert Brown, 26 April 1871 (File)
Subscription to a bust of Sir Joseph Banks by Francis Chantrey.
Robert Brown (London) to Alexander McLeay, 20 April 1821 (File)
Thanks for resolution of Council concerning his duties; value of rental of house at Soho Square.
J. Green (London) to ?, 1 August 1825 (File)
Encroachment of a wall between his property and that of late Sir Joseph Banks at Soho Square.
John Lewis and John Roe (Swan River) to Secretary, 29 August 1836 (File)
Cask of botanical specimens bequeathed to the Society by Alexander Collie.
Franz Bauer (Kew) to John Lhotsky, 17 March 1839 (File)
Lhotsky's biographical sketch of Ferdinand Bauer.
Series. Macleay Correspondence, 1805 - 1859
64 itemsMost of the correspondence is with Sir George Macleay and his father Alexander Macleay and concerns the social conditions and people of New South Wales as well as botanical studies. Letters from Rev. James Backhouse 1837 and 1843, Sir Joseph Banks 1805-18, Bishop Frederick Barker 1856, Edward Barnard 1824, Capt. Biden 1825, Jean Bory de St Vincent 1825, Vice-Admiral Sir Courtenay Boyle 1825, Robert Brown 1840, Rev. William Buckland 1843 forwarding a report by Professor Owen, Charles Campbell 1846, Rev. W.B. Clarke 1843-52, Allan Cunningham 1827, Charles Darwin 1839 introducing Syms Carrington, Sir William Denison 1855, William H. Fitton 1825 and 1842, G.W.S. Gethethjarte 1844, Sir George Gipps 1846 accepting Macleay's resignation as Speaker in the Legislative Council, Dr J.E. Gray 1841, 1844, Thomas C. Harrington 1842-59 including testimonials from Sir Ralph Darling, Rev. C.J. Hoare 1829 introducing Archdeacon W.G. Broughton, Sir James Everard Home 1825, Sir William Hooker and J.D. Hooker 1816-45, G. Howitt 1844, T.H. Huxley 1850, J. Innes 1825, David Jones 1857, Robert L. King 1857, P.P. King (n.d.), William Lithgow 1859, Robert Lowe, Duncan Macarthur 1825, John Macarthur (n.d.), Mrs Alexander Macleay (n.d. and 1837) discussing the estate and social events in Sydney, William Sharp Macleay to Shuckard 1839, 1845, F.J. McCrae 1846, J.A.I. Pancher 1853, Sir William Parry 1833, Sir James Clark Ross 1844, Phillip S. Sims 1841, Sir John Sinclair 1825, A. Smith 1843, J. de C. Sowerby 1847, Sir Alfred Stephen 1846, Admiral Sir James Stirling 1834-35, Samuel Wilson 1841, and miscellanea including accounts and plan of cabins of the ship Duncan Dunbar.
Subjects
Australia: flora and fauna; Backhouse, James, Rev.; Barnard, Edward; Banks, Sir Joseph; Barker, Frederick, Bishop; Biden, Capt.; Birds: Australia; Botany: Australia; Botany; Boyle, Sir Courtenay; Broughton, William G., Bishop; Brown, Robert; Buckland, William, Rev.; Campbell, Charles; Clarke, William B., Rev.; Cunningham, Allan; Darling, Sir Ralph; Darwin, Charles; Denison, Sir William T.; Duncan Dunbar (ship) Fitton, William H.; Gethethjarte, G.W.S.; Gipps, Sir George; Gray, John E., Dr; Harrington, Thomas C.; Hoare, Charles J., Rev.; Home, Sir James E., 2nd Baronet; Hooker, Sir Joseph D.; Hooker, Sir William J.; Howitt, Godfrey; Huxley, Thomas H.; Innes, J.; Jones, David; King, Phillip P., Capt.; King, Robert L.; Lithgow, William; Lowe, Robert, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke; Macarthur, Duncan; Macarthur, John, Capt.; Macleay, Alexander; Macleay, Elizabeth; Macleay, Sir George; Macleay, William S.; McCrae, F.J.; New South Wales: flora and fauna; Owen, Sir Richard; Pancher, J.A.I.; Parry, Sir William E.; Ross, Sir James C., Admiral; Shuckard, William E.; Sinclair, Sir John; Sims, Phillip S.; Smith, Sir Andrew; Sowerby, James de Carle; Stephen, Sir Alfred; Stirling, Sir James, Admiral; St Vincent, Jean Bory de; Sydney, New South Wales ; Tahiti: botany; Tasmania: flora and fauna; Trees, Australia; Wilson,Samuel
Biographical / Historical
Alexander McLeay (1767-1848) became a civil servant in 1797 and from 1806 to 1815 was the secretary of the Transport Board. As a young man, he acquired a passion for entomology and assembled one of the largest collections of insects in private possession. He was secretary of the Linnean Society from 1798 to 1825 and was a fellow of the Royal Society. In 1825 he was appointed Colonial Secretary of New South Wales and held the position until 1837, when a dispute with Sir Richard Bourke led to his resignation. In 1843 he was elected to the Legislative Council and he was Speaker until 1846. His home at Elizabeth Bay, completed in 1837, housed his scientific collections and its garden was famous for its rare plants.
William Sharp Macleay (1792-1865), the eldest son of Alexander McLeay, was educated at Cambridge University and held official positions in Paris and Havana between 1818 and 1836. He became acquainted with leading scientists in Paris and his writings on zoology and entomology led to his election to the councils of the Linnean Society and the Zoological Society. In 1839 he arrived in Sydney and he lived at his father's house, Elizabeth Bay House, for the rest of his life. He was a trustee of the Australian Museum from 1841 to 1862 and a member of the National Board of Education. He assembled a vast collection of natural history specimens and cultivated many exotic shrubs and plants in his garden.
The Macleay correspondence was presented to the Linnean Society in 1865 by George Macleay, the brother of William S. Macleay.
Rev. James Backhouse (Hobart) to Alexander McLeay (Sydney), 22 August 1837 (File)
Specimens of eucalyptus of Van Diemen's Land; recollections of his visit to Sydney.
Sir Joseph Banks (Revesby, London) to Alexander McLeay (Transport Board), 1805 - 1818 (File)
Imprisonment of M. Journeau; orange trees from Malta; forwards letters; transport of sheep from Cadiz. (6 letters).
Bishop Frederick Barker (Sydney) to William S. Macleay, 14 March 1856 (File)
Sends a circular on a school for clergymen's daughters.
Edward Barnard (London) to Alexander McLeay, 25 December 1824 (File)
Conditions in Sydney; a house belonging to Major Frederick Goulburn.
C. Biden (Gravesend) to Alexander McLeay, 9 April 1825 (File)
Appointment of Rose as assistant surgeon on Princess Charlotte.
Jean Baptiste Bory de St-Vincent (Paris) to (Alexander McLeay), 2 May 1825 (File)
Collecting of natural history objects in Australia. (in French)
Courtenay Boyle (Navy Office) to Alexander McLeay, 8 January 1825 (File)
Possible offer of a position on the Navy Board; urges Macleay to accept New South Wales appointment.
Robert Brown to Alexander McLeay, 16 January 1840 (File)
Recommends John Lyell and Marsh travelling to Sydney; engraving of portrait of McLeay.
Robert Brown to William S. Macleay, 20 January 1840 (File)
Macleay's accident on his passage to Sydney; his father's portrait; Marsh, nephew of Sir Benjamin Brodie; seeks additions to collection of New Zealand plants.
Rev. John Buckland (Oxford) to William S. Macleay, 26 January 1843 (File)
Forwards a report by Richard Owen on mastodon remains sent by Sir Thomas Mitchell from Darling Downs; encloses letter from W.J. Broderip.
W.J. Broderip (London) to Rev. J. Buckland, 23 January 1843 (File)
Box of bones received from New Zealand; 'greatest zoological discovery of our time'; paper by Prof. Richard Owen.
Charles Campbell (Duntroon) to Alexander McLeay, 13 May 1846 (File)
Death of Campbell's father; his friendship with McLeay.
Rev. W.B. Clarke (Parramatta) to William S. Macleay, 1843 - 1852 (File)
Coal formation in Australia; believes Australia contains an inexhaustible supply of coal; survey of coal resources in Newcastle area; fish fossils; new form of cephalopod; Sir Roderick Murchison; gold discoveries. (6 letters)
Allan Cunningham (Sydney) to ?, 1827 (File)
Sighting of rare orchid in grounds of cottage of W.C. Wentworth; packet for Robert Brown.
Charles Darwin (London) to William S. Macleay, 29 May 1839 (File)
Introduces Syms Covington, emigrant to Sydney, who was Darwin's servant on HMS Beagle and prepared his specimens.
Sir William Denison (Sydney) to William S. Macleay, 7 August 1855 (File)
Examination and critique of a gun.
William H. Fitton (London) to ?, 26 November 1842 (File)
Possible emigration; geological specimens from Capt. George Grey in South Australia; views of Richard Owen on fossil bones.
William H. Fitton to (Alexander McLeay), 22 July 1825 (File)
Best wishes for New South Wales appointment; geological specimens needed by Geological Society.
G.W. Sandels Gethethjarte (Sydney) to William S. Macleay, 27 February 1844 (File)
Sends sketch of a Mexican insect; meeting of Australian Subscription Library; malicious intentions behind proposed innovations.
Sir George Gipps (Sydney) to Alexander McLeay, 20 May 1846 (File)
Acknowledges his resignation as Speaker of Legislative Council.
John E. Gray (London) to William S. Macleay, 18 June 1841 (File)
Introduces Dr Pratt emigrating to Sydney; interest in New Holland insects; staff changes at British Museum; Robert Brown; purchase of John Gould's collection of New Holland mammalia and selection of birds and reptiles.
Testimonials in favour of Thomas C. Harington of the New Zealand Company, 1842 - 1843 (File)
The contributors include Sir Ralph Darling, Sir William Parry, Rev. William Cowper, Rev. Thomas H. Scott, John H. Plunkett and William Wemyss. (printed, 14pp)
Rev. Charles J. Hoare (Godstone) to Alexander McLeay, 11 April 1839 (File)
Introduces Archdeacon William G. Broughton; divisions in the Anglican Church.
Sir Everard Home (Sydney) to ?, 1 July 1845 (File)
HMS North Star detained in Sydney before proceeding to New Zealand and China; strong opposition to Capt. Robert Fitzroy in New Zealand.
Sir Everard Home (London) to William S. Macleay, 1825 (File)
Natural history and anatomy of kangaroo; for years no specimens have been forwarded to Colonial Office; need for a female specimen.
Sir William J. Hooker (London, Halesworth, Glasgow, Yarmouth) to Alexander McLeay, 1818 - 1845 (File)
Introduces American botanist Booth; possible appointment of Sweeting as medical officer in Sydney; Hooker's interest in a position in the British Museum or at Cambridge (1821-22); East Indies plants; introduces Allan Cunningham; Sydney Botanic Gardens; Gardens should be put on same footing as those at Ceylon; claims of Kidd and Ludwig Leichhardt. (13 letters)
Godfrey Howitt (Melbourne) to ?, 29 July 1844 (File)
Lists 187 plants found in the immediate vicinity of Melbourne. (7pp)
Thomas H. Huxley to William S. Macleay, 25 December 1850 (File)
Voyage from Australia to England; visit to island of Fayal (Azores); paper sent to Linnean Society; Sir John Herschel; search for employment.
J. Innes to Alexander McLeay, 18 February 1825 (File)
Recommends his son George Innes at Bathurst; stock losses through depredations of Australian Aboriginals.
Robert L. King (Parramatta) to (William S. Macleay), 31 December 1857 (File)
Resignation from Australian Museum; his work on eucalyptus; Ferdinand Von Mueller's system of classification.
William Lithgow to William S. Macleay, 31 January 1859 (File)
Seeks pamphlet by Charles de Montalembert.
Robert Lowe to (William S. Macleay) (File)
Termination of Lowe's connection with The Times; arrangements about a house in George Street, Sydney. (incomplete)
Duncan Macarthur (Deal) to Alexander McLeay, 7 January 1825 (File)
McLeay's appointment as Colonial Secretary.
Duncan Macarthur to Alexander McLeay, 14 February 1825 (File)
Information about sheep that McLeay proposes to take to New South Wales; Sir Thomas Mantel.
John Macarthur to (Alexander McLeay) (File)
Land owned by emancipists; a condition of residence would exclude undesirable emancipists.
Elizabeth McLeay (Sydney) to William S. Macleay, 1827 (File)
Illness of Alexander McLeay; purchase of 13,000 acres near Sydney; overseers; visit by HMS Rainbow; death of Sir James Brisbane; Alexander McLeay preoccupied with government business.
William E. Shuckard (London) to William S. Macleay (Portsmouth), 1 October 1838 (File)
Publication of a monograph; geographical descriptions of some genera of hymenoptera. (2 letters)
William S. Macleay (Sydney) to William E. Shuckard, 20 June 1839 (File)
Species collected by Alexander McLeay and named by Leech. (draft)
William S. Macleay (Sydney) to James Macarthur (File)
Preparation of address to Sir George Gipps; Lord Glenelg. (draft)
F.J. McCrae (Sydney) to Alexander McLeay, 22 February 1846 (File)
Recommends a sea voyage for John McLeay.
J.A.I. Pancher (Papeete) to William S. Macleay, 25 July 1853 (File)
Acknowledges box of plants for botanic gardens; botanical studies. (in French)
Sir William Parry (Port Stephens) to Alexander McLeay, 1 July 1833 - 1 August 1833 (File)
Petitions from Hunter River district on laws to control convicts; Parry will never agree to join any faction. (2 letters)
Philip Sime (?) to ?, 9 August 1841 (File)
His article in Sydney Herald on voyage of Capt. J.C. Ross; has dealt lightly with Walker.
Sir John Sinclair (Edinburgh) to Alexander McLeay, 30 January 1825 (File)
Mcleay's appointment to New South Wales; colony's great staple should be wine; silver rabbit of Lincolnshire and Carlisle codlin apples would be assets.
A. Smith to ?, 22 October 1843 (File)
Introduces Dr Dawson proceeding to Sydney to replace Dr Thompson.
J. de C. Sowerby (London) to Alexander McLeay, 11 August 1847 (File)
Botanic gardens at Regents Park; family news; receipt of Australian fossils by Geological Society; interest of W.S. Macleay in botanic gardens in Sydney.
Capt. James Stirling to Alexander McLeay, 2 December 1834 (File)
Stirling's visit to England; unable to secure much money from Treasury; progress of Swan River colony; vast area suited to sheep farming; cheap prices.
Capt. James Stirling (Perth) to Alexander McLeay, 20 March 1835 (File)
Grant of land near Bathurst made in 1828; inquires about measures to secure full title; possible sale of a stallion.
Samuel Wilson (Tahiti) to D. Poole, 9 December 1841 (File)
Researches on traditions and history of Polynesian Islands.
List of shareholders, 31 December 1842 (File)
Including Alexander Berry, John Blaxland, John Betts, R. Tertius Campbell, S.A. Donaldson, P.W. Flower, Sir John Jamison, William S. Macleay, Sir William Parry and Capt. Henry Rous.
Invoices issued by Donaldson & Co. to William S. Macleay, 1 November 1856 - 1 June 1857 (File)
Invoices issued by Donaldson and Co. to William S. Macleay, Nov. 1856-June 1857, T.W. Foster (Sydney), 23 July 1858 and Edward Solomon, 16 Jan. 1856
Series. William Swainson Correspondence, 1816 - 1840
31 itemsLetters from Sir Joseph Banks 1816-19, Andrew Bloxam 1825-26, J. Bunting 1840 and D. Coates 1840 concerning missionary work in New Zealand, Allan Cunningham 1821-31, Richard Cunningham 1833, James Drummond 1837, T.J. Ewing 1837, John Gould 1830-37, Sir William Hooker 1816-39, T.J. Lempriere 1829-39, and a manuscript entitled 'On the Botany of Tahiti' (1870).
Subjects
Australia: flora and fauna; Banks, Sir Joseph; Birds: Australia; Bloxam, Andrew; Botany: Tahiti; Bunting, Jabez, Rev.; Coates, D.; Cunningham, Allan; Cunningham, Richard; Drummond, James; Ewing, Thomas J.; Gould, John; Hooker, Sir William J.; Lempriere, Thomas J.; New Zealand: missions; Swainson, William; Tahiti: botany; Tasmania: flora and fauna
Biographical / Historical
William John Swainson (1789-1855) served with the Army in the Mediterranean from 1807 to 1815 and in his spare time developed a strong interest in the zoology and botany of Sicily and Greece. He retired on half-pay in 1816 and went to Brazil, where he assembled a fine collection of plants. On his return to England he became a fellow of the Royal Society and the Linnean Society and produced a series of important publications on natural history, making use of colour lithography. In the late 1830s he appeared to lose interest in his work and in 1841 he emigrated with his family to New Zealand. He acquired a considerable area of pastoral land in the North Island, but it yielded relatively little income. In 1852 he was invited to study Australian flora and he described 1520 species of eucalyptus.
Swainson to Sir Joseph Banks, 20 November 1816 (File)
Proposed journey to Brazil; seeks instructions on method of sending home living plants.
Andrew Bloxam (Valparaiso) to Swainson (Warwick, Rugby), September 1825 - April 1826 (File)
Visit to Sandwich Islands; birds unique to the islands; shells; narrow escape from death on Galapagos Islands; thanks for books; shells and birds from HMS Blossom; birds of Warwickshire; visit to Oxford Museum. (6 letters)
J. Bunting to Swainson, 21 April 1840 (File)
New Zealand missionaries; procurement of bells for native congregation at Hokianga.
Allan Cunningham (Sydney) to Swainson (London), 25 May 1821 (File)
Engagement with Lieut. Phillip P. King on HMS Mermaid; offers to send insects; inland journey with John Oxley in 1817.
References to some species of Australian birds forwarded to W. Swainson, 30 November 1831 (File)
(2pp)
Richard Cunningham (Sydney) to Swainson, 9 November 1833 (File)
Collecting insects for Swainson; preparation for trip to New Zealand; John Lhotsky.
John Gould (London) to Swainson, 12 December 1830 (File)
Collection of Australian birds; study of generic character of birds.
Includes another letter from Gould to Swainson (30 April 1834).
William J. Hooker (Halesworth, Glasgow) to Swainson, 1816 - 1839 (File)
Thanks for Mediterranean lichens; list of Mediterranean plants; Swainson's exotic conchology; Royal Society of Scotland; possibility of a position for Swainson in British Museum; humming birds; lithography; herbarium; Swainson's Brazilian plants; Carl von Martius's Nova Guinea; Swainson's work on conchology; John Swainson in West Indies; Grigory Langsdorff; James Drummond; Sir William Jardine; proposed expedition to Antarctic (1839); appointment of Joseph Hooker as the naturalist; Swainson's intention of emigrating to New Zealand; Allan Cunningham. (21 letters)
Thomas J. Lempriere (Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen's Land) to Swainson, 23 January 1829 (File)
Swainson's The Naturalist's Guide; animals, birds, fishes, insects, moss and lichens in Van Diemen's Land.
Thomas J. Lempriere (Hobart) to Swainson, 6 May 1830 (File)
Forwards animals; penal settlement at Macquarie Harbour.
Thomas J. Lempriere to Swainson, 6 August 1830 (File)
Despatch of specimens; establishment of Philosophical Society in Hobart; platypus.
Alexander McLeay (London) to Swainson, 1816 - 1822 (File)
Plants from Sicily; Swainson's voyage to Brazil (1816); collecting of insects in Scotland; Swainson's work in Brazil; acquisition of publications for Linnean Society; misunderstanding between Swainson and Dixon in Rio de Janeiro. (8 letters)
Swainson to Alexander McLeay, February 1822 - March 1822 (File)
Aspersions on his character by Dixon and Curtis. (2 letters, copies)
Although described individually, this letter was originally microfilmed with a page from another letter. The last page of the letter described can be found at the beginning of nla.obj.851717770
William S. Macleay (London, Havana) to Swainson, 1818 - 1838 (File)
Swainson's return to England (1818); Macleay's study of entomology; Rev. John Fleming; Swainson's bereavement; possible visit to West Indies (1837). (5 letters)
Swainson to William S. Macleay, July 1830 (File)
Macleay's reply to Dr Fleming's criticisms; urges him to show greater moderation in future; Macleay's talents.
Manuscript, 1870 (File)
On the botany of Tahiti, found in William Swainson's papers and sent to the Linnean Society by the Wellington Philosophical Society in 1870. (19pp.)
John Richardson (Chatham, Gosport) to Swainson, 1830 - 1840 (File)
William Hooker's dealings with James Drummond; proposal for a popular account of discoveries in Arctic America; large collection of Australian birds, reptiles and fishes belonging to Dr Stevenson; Swainson's arrangement of fishes; proceedings of Geological Society; slow progress on paper on Australian fish; Thomas Lempriere. (4 letters)
Series. Miscellaneous manuscripts, 1792 - 1856
9 itemsIncludes: William Archer drawings of Tasmanian orchideae 1848-56; James Backhouse 'An Enumeration of Plants Noticed on Visits to Moreton Bay and Lake Macquarie in 1836' (39 p.) and a draft list of Australian plants; Sir Joseph Banks 'Hints on the Subject of Gardening Suggested to the Gentlemen who Attend the Embassy to China' (1792); Ferdinand Bauer letters to his brother 1802-04 and drawing; two letters from General Thomas Hardwick to Sir Joseph Banks, Sir William Hooker 'Prince of Wales Island Flora'; George Suttor 'Notes on the Forest Trees of Australia' 1843.
Subseries. William Archer, 1848 - 1856
1 itemSubjects
Archer, William; Australia: flora and fauna; Botany: Australia; Paintings, drawings and prints: Tasmania; Tasmania: flora and fauna
Biographical / Historical
William Archer (1820-1874) of Cheshunt, near Deloraine, was a leading landowner in Tasmania and also an architect, naturalist and politician. In 1856-58 he visited England to pursue his botanical studies and was elected as a fellow of the Linnean Society. He was later secretary of the Royal Society of Tasmania.
Subseries. James Backhouse
1 itemSubjects
Australia: flora and fauna; Backhouse, James, Rev.; Botany: Australia; Lake Macquarie, New South Wales; Linnean Society of New South Wales; Moreton Bay, Queensland; Norfolk Island; Queensland: flora and fauna
Biographical / Historical
Rev. James Backhouse (1774-1869) was a Quaker missionary who, with G.W. Walker, toured all the Australian colonies between 1832 and 1838.
Subseries. Sir Joseph Banks, 1792
1 itemsubjects
Banks, Sir Joseph; China; Linnean Society of London
Subseries. Ferdinand Bauer, 1801 - 1804
2 itemsSubjects
Australia: flora and fauna; Bauer, Ferdinand; Botany: Australia; Linnean Society of London; Sydney, New South Wales
Biographical / Historical
Ferdinand Bauer (1760-1826) and his brother Franz Bauer were born in Austria and settled in England in 1787. In 1800 Ferdinand was appointed botanical draughtsman on HMS Investigator, commanded by Lieut. Matthew Flinders. By the time he returned to England in 1805 he had made 2073 drawings, but only a small number were published, including ten plates in Flinders's A voyage to Terra Australis (1814).
Subseries. General Thomas Hardwicke, 1816 - 1817
2 itemSubjects
Banks, Sir Joseph; Botany; Hardwick, Thomas, Gen.
Biographical / Historical
Thomas Hardwicke (1756-1835) joined the army of the East India Company in 1778 and served in India until 1823. He became a major-general in 1819. He collected zoological specimens in his travels and amassed a large collection of paintings of animals. He was a fellow of the Royal Society and the Linnean Society.
General Thomas Hardwicke (Calcutta) to Sir Joseph Banks, 15 May 1816 (File)
Appointment of James Hare to the botanical gardens in Calcutta; his relations with Nathaniel Wallich; Hardwicke's hopes of rambling in Java; natural history acquisitions in Malacca; new species of tapir; quotes extract from paper by William Farquhar; bird of paradise from Amboyna; wild cow or buffalo from Celebes. (13pp)
Series. Papers of Alfred Wallace, 1855 - 1861
8 itemsAlfred R. Wallace journals 1856-61, notebooks 1855-59, and list of Australian birds.
Biographical / Historical
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) began collecting insects as a young man and in 1848-52 he accompanied Alfred Bates on a collecting expedition to Brazil. On his return to England, he wrote a number of academic papers and two books and established contacts with several leading scientists. From 1854 to 1862 he travelled through Malaya and the East Indies, collecting 126,000 specimens of insects, butterflies, birds, fish and mammals. He published The Malay Archipelago in 1869. It was while living in Borneo, Lombok, the Aru Islands and Ternate in 1855-58 that Wallace developed his ideas on evolutionary theory. The famous paper 'On the tendency of species to form varieties', jointly written by Wallace and Charles Darwin, appeared in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London in August 1858.
Subseries. Journals of Alfred Wallace in the East Indies, 1856 - 1861
4 itemssubjects
Wallace, Alfred R.
Volume 1, June 1856 - 9 March 1857 (File)
The entries cover Wallace's travels in Baly (Bali), Lombock (Lombok), Macassar (Makassar, Celebes ie Sulawesi), Ke (Kai) Island and the Arru (Aru) Islands. (entries 1-68)
Volume 2, 13 March 1857 - 1 March 1858 (File)
The entries cover Wallace's travels in the Arru Islands, Makassar, the Kaisa Islands (Sulawesi), Timor, Banda Island (Banda Besar), Amboyna (Ambon), Ternate and Gilolo (Halmahera). (entries 69-128)
Volume 3, 25 March 1858 - October 1859 (File)
The entries cover Wallace's travels in Ternate, Makian (Machian) Island, Ganeh (Gani, South Halmahera), Dorey (New Guinea ie Irian Jaya), Batchian (Bacan) Island, Ternate, Gilolo, Tidore Island, March (Mare) Island, Motir (Moti) Island, the Kaioa Islands, Batchian Island, Ternate, Amboyna, Banda Island, Timor, Semao (Semau) Island, Menada (Sulawesi) and Amboyna. (entries 129-92)
Volume 4, 29 October 1859 - 10 May 1861 (File)
The entries cover Wallace's travels in Ceram (Seram) Island, the Gorong Islands, Kilwaru (Kiliwara) Island, Ceram Island, the Mesmon Islands (Jef Doif Islands), Waigiou Island (Irian Jaya), Gam Island (Irian Jaya), Giliolo, Kaioa Island, Ternate, Timor, Banda Island, Amboyna and Bouru Island. (entries 193-245)
Subseries. Notebooks of Alfred Wallace in the East Indies, 1855 - 1859
4 itemssubjects
Birds: Australia; Australia: flora and fauna; Wallace, Alfred R.
Notebook 1 (File)
Notebook containing a list of birds, giving the name of the bird, the reference in John Gould's Birds of Australia, whether the bird was in Wallace's Collection, and the locality and comments. There is an index in the front of the notebook. (101pp)
Series. Society for Promoting Natural History, 1789 - 1797
2 itemIncludes: minutes of meeting 14 December 1795 and transcription of a letter from Capt. W. Paterson 1794; part of a letter from Norfolk Island 1790.
Subjects
Australia: flora and fauna; King, Phillip P., Capt.; Norfolk Island; Paterson, William; Ross, Sir James C., Admiral; Society for Promoting Natural History; Sydney, New South Wales
Biographical / Historical
The Society for Promoting Natural History was founded in London in 1782, six years before the Linnean Society. It was never in a secure financial position and it did not publish scientific papers. It was dissolved in 1822 and its assets passed to the Linnean Society.
Minute book, no. 2, 1789 - 1797 (File)
Copy of a letter from Capt. William Paterson (Norfolk Island), 23 Aug. 1790. The letter refers to the wreck of the HMS Sirius, the transfer of command at Norfolk Island from Lieut. Philip G. King to Major Robert Ross, the shortage of provisions, rations, and birds on the island.
Minutes of meeting, 14 December 1795 (File)
The minutes refer to a letter from Capt. William Paterson (Sydney) to William Forsyth, 2 May 1794. The attached letter refers to Paterson's return from Norfolk Island, his collection of specimens, seeds and shells; an expedition to discover the source of the Hawkesbury and Grose Rivers; the colony's narrow escape from starvation, the purchase of cattle and stores from the East Indies, and the arrival of the Daedalus with a letter from Archibald Menzies in the northern Pacific Ocean. Attached to the letter is a return of land cleared for cultivation in New South Wales, 25 April 1794. (4pp)