Preliminary analysis of the Hodgson Collection at the Zoological Society of London

Abstract

While serving as Britain's diplomatic representative in Nepal between 1820 and 1843, Brian Houghton Hodgson (1801–1894) amassed a unique collection of paintings of Nepalese birds and mammals. A pioneer of nineteenth-century zoology, Hodgson's collection of images is one of the most important of its kind, providing crucial information for modern taxonomists and conservationists working in the Himalayan region. It is also an important and hitherto largely untapped source for the historian of science, indicating that Hodgson and other colonial naturalists, while geographically remote from London's scientific institutions, were fully engaged with London's scientific culture in the 1820s and 1830s. This paper outlines the extent of the Zoological Society of London's Hodgson holdings and the context of their creation. It draws parallels between the scientific content of Hodgson's images and the Quinarian system of natural classification, revising the established view of Hodgson as a wholly descriptive naturalist and opening the collection to new interpretations.