Abstract
Britain’s control of more than a fifth of the world’s land area made it more possible to collect animals from the reach of empire. Live exotic specimens were brought back to England, and if they survived, shown to an inquisitive public as well as to zoologists. Scientists also collected the skins of these exotics, for their markings were basic to compiling a more definitive taxonomy. Gathering these specimens, however, was a complex, costly, and risky business. Letters sent from dealers and agents record just how complicated and chaotic the trade in wild animals was. They contain narratives of loss, hardship, and frustration. This chapter concentrates on the extensive correspondence (1830s–1850s) sent from dealers and agents to England’s most prolific collector, the 13th Earl of Derby.
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Notes
- 1.
The letters to which I refer in this chapter are from the correspondence of Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby, housed in the World Museum in Liverpool, an institution founded by Lord Derby (hereafter cited as Letterbooks) and from The Collection of Lord Derby at Knowsley Hall, Liverpool (hereafter cited as Tin Trunk).
- 2.
One exception in the correspondence I consulted is a February 5, 1843 letter from Calcutta in which J.M. McClelland describes the capturing of a stag. He writes: “Mr. Frith and his party shot an old stag of the same species.…a noble fearless creature…the elephants upon which the sportsmen were mounted approached quite close to it when it broke slowly away a short distance before it was shot. None of the party had ever seen such a species before” (Letterbooks).
- 3.
Between 1832 and 1850, Lord Derby had nearly 50 agents. Lord Derby meticulously copied every letter he received from his collectors. Unfortunately none of his letters to his collectors in the field are present, but occasionally Lord Derby made notes on the letters he received from his agents.
- 4.
For a full description of the menagerie, see Fisher 2002.
- 5.
The 13th Earl of Derby’s interest in natural history was partially indebted to his father’s avid interest in the subject. A thoroughly researched collection of essays on Lord Derby’s interest can be found in Fisher 2002.
- 6.
On November 19, 1844, Whitfield complained: “My Lord, not having heard from your Lordship relative to the Skins etc. etc.…I am disposed to think that my last letter did not reach your Lordship…” (Letterbooks).
- 7.
The Reverend John Fry (1801–1861), Anglican clergyman and naval chaplain, lived in the Cape of Good Hope. He was a keen naturalist. For a short time he was Curator of the South African Museum and President of the Zoological Society.
- 8.
In a August 2, 1842 letter, Joseph Burke writes: “My Lord…The main object of a Collector is to satisfy his Patron & to do that a Collector should not go along where…he has the least doubt that he will succeed” (Letterbooks).
- 9.
On August 29, 1834 Thomas Horsfield (an employee of the East India House) advised Lord Derby, for instance, that he should set up a correspondence with establishments and residences in various Dutch possessions and in that way be in a position to add to his collection of exotic birds (Tin Trunk).
- 10.
Rajandra Mullick was an extremely wealthy merchant who had been adopted by a rich family. In 1835, at age 16, he began construction of his Marble Palace (completed in 1840). When the Zoological Gardens in Calcutta were set up in 1876, he donated many birds and animals from his personal collection.
- 11.
For a fuller account of the practice and meaning of collecting skins, see Colley 2014.
- 12.
Blyth was aware of the fact that Lord Derby did not require a tiger. In the same letter he wrote that he knows “your Lordship did not require Carnivores” but that he had sent a few, “thinking they would meet with a ready sale in England” (Tin Trunk).
Works Cited
Colley, Ann C. 2014. Wild Animal Skins in Victorian Britain: Zoos, Collections, Portraits, and Maps. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate.
Fisher, Clemency. 2002. The Knowsley Aviary & Menagerie. In A Passion for Natural History: The Life and Legacy of the 13th Earl of Derby, 84–95. National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside. Liverpool: Bluecoat Press.
Letterbooks. Archives Department/Vertebrate Zoology, National Museums Liverpool. 920 (DER) 13.
Tin Trunk. The Collection of Lord Derby, Knowsley Hall, Liverpool.
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Colley, A.C. (2017). Collecting the Live and the Skinned. In: Mazzeno, L., Morrison, R. (eds) Animals in Victorian Literature and Culture. Palgrave Studies in Animals and Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60219-0_2
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