Sowerby Family, naturalists

Material, formerly held in the Western Manuscripts Department's Autograph Letters Sequence, documenting several generations of the Sowerby family, all involved in some way in natural history. Comprises:

MS.7665/1-4: Sowerby, James (1757-1822), naturalist and artist. 3 autograph letters, signed, by James Sowerby (nos.1-3); 1 autograph letter, signed, to him. 1799-1818.

MS.7665/5-15: Sowerby, James De Carle (1787-1871), naturalist and artist, son of James Sowerby. 7 signed letters, autograph except for nos. 8-9 which are printed standard letters, by James De Carle Sowerby (nos.5-11); 3 receipts signed by James De Carle Sowerby (nos.12-14); 1 autograph letter, signed, to James De Carle Sowerby (no.16). 1802-1868.

MS.7665/16: Sowerby I, George Brettingham (1788-1854), conchologist and artist, son of James Sowerby. 1 autograph letter, signed, to George Brettingham Sowerby from Edmund Belfour of the Royal College of Surgeons, permitting him to draw an item in the College's collections. 1824.

MS.7665/17: Sowerby, Charles Edward (1795-1842), son of James Sowerby. 1 autograph receipt, signed as "for my father". 1821.

MS.7665/18-20: Sowerby II, George Brettingham, F.L.S. (1812-1884), conchologist and artist, son of George Brettingham Sowerby I. 3 autograph letters, signed, by George Brettingham Sowerby II, F.L.S. 1843-1850.

MS.7665/21: Sowerby, Henry (1825-1891), teacher, mining engineer, son of George Brettingham Sowerby I. 1 autograph letter, signed, by Henry Sowerby, applying for a position in a museum of natural history in the United States of America. 1850.

MS.7665/22-24: Sowerby, William (1827-1906), son of James De Carle Sowerby. 1 autograph letter, signed, by William Sowerby, 1888 (no.22); part of an autograph letter, signed by William Sowerby, beginning missing, n.d. (no.23); admission ticket to the Royal Botanic Society of London, signed by William Sowerby, the printed regulations on the rear being by James De Carle Sowerby, 1871 (no.24). mid 19th century - late 19th century.

1799-1888

24 items

Purchased from: Stevens, London, December 1919 (acc.92255), March 1931 (acc.56483 and 68133), May 1931 (acc.68156 and 68158), November 1933 (acc.67474); Mrs. Barrett, London, March 1930 (acc.91327); Glendining, London, December 1931 (acc.67595), August 1934 (acc.67833), August 1935 (possibly an error for 1934) (acc.67880). Sotheby's. London; Mrs. Watson, Burnley, March 1945 (acc.72200), presumably once part of the Thomas Madden Stone autograph collection. Provenance details of no.20 not recorded (acc.67430). No accession details recorded for no.24.

The persons in this collection comprise: James Sowerby (1757-1822), naturalist and artist; his sons James De Carle Sowerby (1787-1871), naturalist and artist, George Brettingham Sowerby I (1788-1854), conchologist and artist, Charles Edward Sowerby (1795-1842), and William Sowerby (1827-1906); and two sons of George Brettingham Sowerby I, namely George Brettingham Sowerby II, F.L.S. (1812-1884), conchologist and artist, and Henry Sowerby (1825-1891), teacher and mining engineer.

For more infomation on the individuals concerned and their relationships, see the special issue of the Journal for the Bibliography of Natural History devoted to the Sowerby family (Vol.6 (6), 1974) and particularly the family tree between pp.376-377.

Database description transcribed from Richard Aspin and Christopher Hilton's typescript supplement to S.A.J Moorat's Catalogue of Western Manuscripts.