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Description: | raptors collected by John Henry Gurney senior
Pre-eminent bird collection comprising British and foreign specimens which are fully catalogued with individual database records. Over 1800 recognised species are represented. Because of the importance of Norfolk in the history of British ornithology, what is primarily a local collection has national significance. The specimens are in the form of cabinet and round skins; mounted and cased specimens, including some in Victorian glass domes; feet; heads and wings; mounted feathers; and skeletons, skulls and bones. The skins constitute an important British and European collection including historically important specimens, often used for reference by artists and amateur and professional ornithologists as a variety of plumages are represented. The wide range of cased specimens by respected taxidermists such as T.E. Gunn, W. Lowne and B. Leadbetter, is important in understanding the techniques used in taxidermy and the artistic development of the case interiors. Some feature an artificial display of many colourful birds together. Many of the interiors feature real plant material and nests and eggs used as groundwork. This collection contains examples of work of all the major East Anglian taxidermists from 1790 to the present day. Among them are several historically important specimens, including first records for Britain, indispensible for investigations into the status of rare species. Many famous local ornithologists were involved in putting the collection together, notably J.H. Gurney senior, J.H. Gurney junior and Dr. B.B. Riviere. The objects in the collection were mostly collected and aquired by the museum between the mid 19th century and the mid 20th century.
Much of the collection is on display in the Bird Galleries of Norwich Castle Museum in a series of bespoke cabinet which have been a feature of the museum since 1895, and the collection is also displayed in dioramas of Norfolk landscapes in the Ted Ellis Norfolk Room | Format: | 15800 specimens | Subjects: | Ornithology Collecting Birds of prey Birds | Temporal: | 20th century - early 1900-1930 19th century - late Victorian 1876-1899 19th century - mid Victorian 1851-1875 | Source: | Cornucopia - Discovering UK Collections | FAX: | +44 (0)1603 493623 | Telephone: | +44 (0)1603 493625 | Identifier: | oai:www.cornucopia.org.uk:7126 | Format: | 15800 specimens | Go to resource |
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