Catalogues of osteology: man
TitleCatalogues of osteology: man
ReferenceRCS-MUS/7/8
Level of descriptionseries
Datec1867-1934
Admin./ biographical history
The core of the osteological collection came to the College as part of John Hunter’s original collection and was then expanded by the College.
The first printed list of osteological specimens was compiled by William Clift and printed in 1831. In 1842 conservator Richard Owen suggested to the Museum Committee that a more detailed catalogue should be prepared. He also wanted to merge the fossil and recent osteology catalogues and create a new arrangement system based on anatomical and zoological groupings, but this was rejected, leaving many internal groupings in the series incomplete, and requiring cross-referencing. When William Flower became conservator in 1861 his assistant James Bell Pettigrew studied the existing catalogues and found they did not need revision, except the osteological catalogue. Flower therefore expanded and re-catalogued the osteology collection, and his catalogues were published 1879-1884 (humans in 1879).
A second edition of the osteological catalogue was published in 1907, compiled by Charles Stewart. It retained the original descriptions but included newly added specimens and was re-organised so that it went from the highest to the lowest forms of vertebrates instead of the other way around (starting with humans instead of ending with them).
Barnard Davies, Havelock Charles and the Anthropological Society also donated their anthropological collections of skulls and osteology to the College and there are separate catalogues for these.
Many of the osteological specimens were destroyed when the College was hit by a bomb in 1941, and many of the remaining specimens (those whose main interest was archaeological) were transferred to the British Museum (Natural History Section) following the Second World War.
The core of the osteological collection came to the College as part of John Hunter’s original collection and was then expanded by the College.
The first printed list of osteological specimens was compiled by William Clift and printed in 1831. In 1842 conservator Richard Owen suggested to the Museum Committee that a more detailed catalogue should be prepared. He also wanted to merge the fossil and recent osteology catalogues and create a new arrangement system based on anatomical and zoological groupings, but this was rejected, leaving many internal groupings in the series incomplete, and requiring cross-referencing. When William Flower became conservator in 1861 his assistant James Bell Pettigrew studied the existing catalogues and found they did not need revision, except the osteological catalogue. Flower therefore expanded and re-catalogued the osteology collection, and his catalogues were published 1879-1884 (humans in 1879).
A second edition of the osteological catalogue was published in 1907, compiled by Charles Stewart. It retained the original descriptions but included newly added specimens and was re-organised so that it went from the highest to the lowest forms of vertebrates instead of the other way around (starting with humans instead of ending with them).
Barnard Davies, Havelock Charles and the Anthropological Society also donated their anthropological collections of skulls and osteology to the College and there are separate catalogues for these.
Many of the osteological specimens were destroyed when the College was hit by a bomb in 1941, and many of the remaining specimens (those whose main interest was archaeological) were transferred to the British Museum (Natural History Section) following the Second World War.
Scope and ContentContains 13 catalogues of the museum collections of human bones, including 1 copy of the 1879 catalogue, 3 annotated copies of the 1907 catalogue, and separate collections of human skulls from Barnard Davies and other sources.
Extent13 volumes, 3 folders, 1 file, 1 deep box, 1 index card box
LanguageEnglish
Conditions governing accessBy appointment only. See College website for contact details of the Archives.
Related objectsRCS-MUS/7/36
RCS-MUS/7/37
RCS-MUS/7/37
