Showing 18 results

Archival description
Wellesley, Arthur
SEC/1/14 · Item · 1828
Part of ZSL Secretaries

The Duke of Wellington wishing to subscribe one sum to the Zoological Society instead of annually begs Mr Hamond will let him know the amount of the sum which he is to pay

Mr. James Wm. Hamond
(Collector to The Zoological Society)
No 53 Skinner St.
Snow Hill

Walsh, John Benn
SEC/1/13 · Item · 1830
Part of ZSL Secretaries

Sir John Walsh presents his compliments to Mr Vigors & begs to represent to him the impertinence which he experienced from a Gate Keeper of the name of Parker at the Zoological Gardens this afternoon. This person in demanding Sir John's umbrella & in reply to an observation that as shown was threatening, he was unwilling to relinquish it and with great insolence that it was no use taking, he must have it, & his behaviour was the more improper as Sir John was accompanied by Lady Jane & his children. If the Society find it necessary to adopt a regulation, which in a large garden, & in a showery season must be admitted to be an inconvenient & annoying one to the visitors, it must be their wish that it should be enforced with the greatest civility and they cannot desire to licence their Servants to accost persons of respectability with the manners and tone of a police officer to a pickpocket

28 Berkeley Square
Wednesday

Complaint against Gate Keeper
24 June [1830]

Vigors, Nicholas Alyward
SEC/1/12 · Item · 1826
Part of ZSL Secretaries

4 Regent St

May 8th 1846

Sir

In pursuance of a Resolution of the Council of the Zoological Society I have the honour to inform you that you have been admitted as one of the original members of the Society and I am directed to request the payment of your Subscription at your earliest convenience. I beg leave to forward to you the enclosed Prospectus and to solicit your exertions to obtain the accession of others to our list of Subscribers.

I have the honour to be Sir,
your obedient Servant

N.A. Vigors
Secretary

John A. Blake Esq
etc etc etc

Telfaire, Charles
SEC/1/11 · File · 1832-1833
Part of ZSL Secretaries

Letters from Charles Telfaire to Nicholas Aylward Vigors regarding his research on the Dodo, a tortoise from the Seychelles, tortoises of the Amirante Islands and Mombasa, and a Chamaeleon from the north of Madagascar to be presented to the Zoological Society of London

Pryor, William
SEC/1/10 · Item · 1830
Part of ZSL Secretaries

Letter from William Pryor to Nicholas Aylward Vigors regarding a request to add labels to a great portion of the animals at the Zoological Society of London

Nicholas Alyward Vigors
SEC/1 · Series · 1826-1833
Part of ZSL Secretaries

Nicholas Alyward Vigors was an Irish zoologist and politician and one of the founding members of the Zoological Society of London. He was the 1st secretary of the society, and was in post from 1826-1833.

SEC/1/11/1 · Item · 20 Aug 1832
Part of ZSL Secretaries

Monsieur Telfair

Celle ci est pour repondre a la lettre que vous m'avez fair l'honneur de m'ecrire. Je suis flatté de la preference que vous m'accorder. Vous pouvez etre persuade qu'a la premiere occasion. Je ferai tous mes efforts pour vous envoyer Vivans un ou plusieurs de ces oiseaux que vous desirez. Je ferai aussi toutes les recherches & [fouills?] dans les environs pour les [?] que l'on pouvais y trouver. S'il y a quelques autres [?] a [?] que vous desirez ne [?] pas de me commander ou sera toujours un vrai [?] pour moi de vous etre utile. Cet oiseau est nomme dans le pays Oiseau Boeuf nom qui l'on a tire de son cri qui est absolument celui du veau. Je me souviens qu'un jour l'avons entendre crier moi & des [?] nous avons ete a la recherche d'un veau & nous avons trouve cet oiseau dans un arbre. Je suis [?] [?] de m'avais [?] [?] pendant le sejour de la fregate [?] i'le constamment avec [?] Messieurs les accompayons dance leur recherche & avec la plus grand partir de mes [?] M. G[?]y n'avons pas ete dans la meme [?] [?] plus heureaux ces [?] [?] pres deux de ces oiseau Je le repete Monsieur Je ferai tous a qui repondre de mois pour vous etre utile & agreable - vous pouvez compter sur moi.

J'ai le honneur d'etre avec un profond respect Monsieur votre tres humble & tres obeissant serviteur

Rodriguez 20 Aout 1832

SEC/1/11/2 · Item · Nov 1832
Part of ZSL Secretaries

Nov 3/8 1832
Port Louis, Mauritius

My dear Sir
I have had an opportunity lately of making some researches about the fossil bones of the Dronte or Dodo. One of the Kings ships the Talbot having gone from [here] to visit the Island of Rodriguez on which occasion my friend Colonel Dawkins undertook to bring me the bird if it existed - or its bones if they were [?] found. I send you the result of his researches and the specimens that have been collected in consequence - begging that wherever there are duplicates they may be given to the Ashmolean Museum for whose curators Mr Duncan and I have the highest esteem and respect. It was from him that the first impulse emanated which set us to work on this subject. Long before this letter reaches you I trust you will have received from Mr Barclays a communication of the specimens contained in two boxes shipped on board the [Salvation?] Captain Addison, I have heard that the eagle I sent you arrived safe after having devoured the last living animal on board, a fine cat that was sacrificed with great regret for his preservation - I now send you in care of Mr. Vinet Secretary to the Governor by the [?] Captain Hunt & hope that you will find some novelties in them - I kept the white Hawk alive for several months in the hopes of a good occasion to forward him - he was a noble creature you will find him stuffed and in the same box with the bones of the supposed Dodo together with the stuffed specimen of the ["oiseau a boeuf" of Rodrigues] Crow of Madagascar. I have some curious living tortoises to send to you from the Amirantes Islands but I wish to give them a Summer passage - I had a stuffed specimen of the "Oiseau a Boeuf" for you from Rodriguez but I find it so eaten up by insects that it would be wrong to forward it with the others - enclosed in a letter I have received from my friend David Griffiths the missionary at [?] you will see that I may expect some Madagascan specimens of the Tandraka and the Sokina he has sent me a very curious fable [?] the conversation between the [Mamba?] or Crocodile and the Sokina with a translation of it into English, this latter being interesting to the learned in Eastern languages. I have sent it to my friend Mr. Calder of Calcutta to publish in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society where as they have already done with several translations - poems and legendary tales I had forwarded to them. You shall have the specimens of the Sokia and Tandraka by the first good occasion. Enclosed is a Madagascan version of the Psalms. I wish some of the religious societies at home would send a large supply of paper for printing at Tananarivo. There are six thousand people in the school and a great thirst for information. The local gov. here does what it can to favour the spread of knowledge - but in these times of economy the supplies are very limited. I had got so far in my letter when yours of the 14th July reached me - with your very welcome parcel of proceedings of the Society for which I beg [you] to express my best thanks "among the flacons" containing the fish in the larger case you will find an animal which I think you will consider quite new. I never saw it before it was sent to me lately from the Interior and southern part of Madagascar - and I have not seen any of the Madagascan people here that were acquainted with it. It is the most savage creature of its size I ever met - its motions & powers & activity were those of a tyger and it had the same appetite for blood & destruction of animal life - its muscular force was very great & the muscles of the limbs remarkably full and thick - it lived with me some months, we took it for a new species of Viverra but you will soon [determine?] all about it. Our poor colony has been sadly buffeted by misfortunes & bankrupting from the utter extinction of value in colonial property [from] owing to the measures of the anticolonial party at home, our young men have been disheartened in their pursuits of science by the presence of misery. I told you that our Cath. Bishop had upset our Chair of Natural History - & having done all the harm he could stole away furtively from the island, he has not since been heard of - we have now no professorship of science in our college, neither Natural Philosophy, Nat. History - Botany nor Chemistry - all of which I had introduced into the course of Education in the College of Port Louis of which I am Vice President, If the Minister would recommend to the Governor the re-establishment of these professorships - it would be a great favour to the unlucky youths of the island & attach their fathers & families to the Minister who restored them this boon. There is no better man living than our present Governor but his hands are tied in all that regards expense & however disposed to favour the rising generation he cannot afford to do it out of his own pocket. Your letters & communications cheer our little scientific circle & encourages us to exertion & particularly your notices of us in your proceedings which are very flattering.

Your sincerely obliged friend

C. Telfair

SEC/1/11/3 · Item · 25/26 Feb 1833
Part of ZSL Secretaries

Port Louis, Mauritius
Feby 25/26 1833

My dear Sir,

I send you under charge of Dr. Wallace of the Royal George - two tortoises from the islands of the Amirantes to the Eastwards of Seychelles - and one of a different description from the Harbour of Mombaza on the East coast of Africa. He will also present you in the name of the Honourable Lady Colville - a Chameleon from the North of Madagascar. I beg you to recommend Dr [Wallace?] to any kind attention you can show him regarding your garden Menagerie in return for the care & trouble he takes in conducting these animals to you. I have requested that in case of death they may be put in spirits & presented for your dissection. I send you in a flacon, preserved in spirits - an animal which you will find undescribed. I hope I have already written to you about it. - it comes from the [interior?] of Madagascar where it is called the "Sokinoh" A pair of the animals was sent to me from the Queen in charge of one of the members of her deputation which lately visited the Mauritians - this couple escaped our of their cage - they appear of the genus of Tandrek but differ in many [?] points - they left the little one I now send you - it was dropt by the mother the night she escaped & I fed it on milk for seventeen days when it died - I put it in the flacon with spirits & afterwards put in the same flacon a chameleon which died in my Court being hurt by a bittern of Madagascar who wished to swallow it. I have written to you by Sir Charles Colville today

believe me very sincerely
your obliged friend and servant

C. Telfair

Hay, S A Drummond
SEC/1/9 · File · 1832
Part of ZSL Secretaries

Letters from S A Drummond Hay to Nicholas Aylward Vigors regarding specimens of zoology in the vicinity of Tangier