Letter from Gladwyn Noble of the American Museum of Natural History, to Joan Procter regarding exchanges of specimens with the Zoological Society of London

Lists specimens sent to the Natural History Museum

It was proposed in the setting up of ZSL that there would be a museum for zoological specimens, and items began being collected c.1827 including a collection of Sumatran specimens donated by Lady Sophia Raffles, widow of ZSL founder Sir Stamford Raffles. The museum was housed firstly within our office building at 33 Bruton Street in central London, and charged entry for people to visit. Many specimens were donated by fellows, John Gould donated his collection of Himalayan birds in 1831 to the museum, for example. The museum proved very popular, and grew at such a rate that it was one of the reasons for moving office to Leicester square. It was decided that the Society either needed to purchase a dedicated building for it - or to disperse the collection. ZSL Council chose the latter, and by 1855 the collection had been dispersed to various other collections including the British Museum (Natural History) and Norwich Museum.

Includes: Report on the value of the Reserved Collection, 1851; Dr Crisp. Museum Stores; List of Animals Presented to the Norwich Collection; Catalogue of specimens of cruise, 1849; etc. Also includes printed extracts from the Annual Reports regarding the Museum, and a printed petition to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to buy the collection. The Dr Crisp item is a list of articles purchased by him from the Museum, including the skin of a giraffe. 

List of skeletons held in the Museum, whence obtained and observations

Includes: Account of the sale of Funded Property. Extraordinary Expenditure on Carnivora Dens and Terrace, Museum, Gardens, Hanover Square Offices

Letter from Magrath regarding plans of a museum. He remarks that they are less expensive than Anglesea or the Duke of Buckingham's House

Letters from Edmund Ruppell, a German citizen from Frankfort, giving appreciation for receipt of his diploma as a foreign member of the Zoological Society of London, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, comments on his discoveries such as a new variety of Gasteropod, a list of mammals and birds 'our museum wishes to get from England' receipt of the 1934 Proceedings, the first volume of museum catalogue, and his wish to complete the exchange

Letter from the Secretary of the United Services Museum, accompanying two specimens of birds killed in Mexico and of a Scoter killed at Southampton. The letter asks the Zoological Society of London to inspect and return them

Notes and memos including a Report of the Council and Report of the Auditors of the Zoological Society of London read at the Anniversary Meeting, a meeting of naturalists at the British Museum, extracts from letters to Mr Owen, and Edward Turner Bennett's account of Macropus Parryi