Zoological collections in the early British Museum: the Zoological Society's Museum

Abstract

The most important zoological collection in London outside of the British Museum was that established by the Zoological Society of London. It was to have only a fleeting existence of 30 years from its foundation in 1825. Yet in that short space of time, its collections of vertebrate specimens came to rival those of the British Museum both in volume and in taxonomic value, and attracted visiting workers from Europe to study its specimens. To some extent its extraordinary success was due to the high calibre of its contributors during the expansionist and exploratory period of the British Empire, but the quality of its curatorial staff played an important role in its success. Well within the three decades of its lifespan inadequate funding leading to difficulties with accommodation and insufficient spending on the care of the specimens caused the collection to deteriorate. Within the administrative priorities of the Society the Museum took second place to the Menagerie and by 1854 the dispersal of the collection had commenced. Some of the material came to the British Museum but not all the important specimens. Many specimens including type material and historically important collections were dispersed to relatively obscure local collections in which their importance has been lost sight of, if it was ever recognized. This paper outlines the history of the Zoological Society's Museum, discusses the importance of its holdings and assesses the contribution that it made to the collections of the British Museum.