Ryder ecn2013
-
Upload
ecnofficer -
Category
Education
-
view
276 -
download
3
description
Transcript of Ryder ecn2013
Suzanne Ryder
Making the world's oldest insect collection accessible
Natural History Museum, London
Darwin Centre II
DC II opened in 2009 housing the Entomology and Botany collections
Montagu House
The first home of the British Museum, which included Natural History.
The Waterhouse Building c1890
The Natural History Collections separated from the British Museum, Bloomsbury to move to the new
Natural History Museum in South Kensington.
Sir Hans Sloane, 1660-1753
Other Notable Historic Collections
• Alfred Russel Wallace• Charles Darwin• Sir Joseph Banks• Johann Fabricius
Sloane Insect Collection
• 18 drawers
• 3 bound volumes
James Petiver, 1665-1718
There are two bound volumes containing insect specimens
Leonard Plukenet, 1642-1706
This bound volume is the oldest know insect collection
Condition of the Plukenet volume
The fragile state of the pages has been a great concern when handling the volume
Conservation challenges
• Some damage to the spine• Pollutant build up• Specimens detached from the page
Cleaning and repairing the pages
The condition of the Petiver Volumes
• The book boards have separated
• Severe red rot• Pollutant build up
The specimens are preserved between mica sheets
The future of these bound collections• Complete the remedial conservation
• Digitise these volumes
• Make these collections virtually accessible
• Possible molecular investigations
• Possible limited physical access and display
Questions