Henry Doubleday - an interesting find in the Field Club archive
Mark Hanson 3 Church Cottages, Church Road, Boreham, Essex CM3 3 EG
Whilst looking through some items in the Club's collection I came across a file of material
related to Henry Doubleday the famous Epping Naturalist. The file not only includes
copies of his best known publications - his systematic catalogue of British Birds and the
Zoologist Synonymic List of Butterflies and Moths, but it also has a copy of the auction
catalogue from the sale of his taxidermy collection at the Cock Inn, Epping in 1871. The
catalogue is annotated with prices achieved and in some cases the surname of the
purchaser. Among those mentioned are Tuke, Gurney, Lister, Christie, Bailey, Smee,
Clark and Ashby. Some of this material was later donated to the Passmore Edwards
Museum.
There is also some correspondence from Doubleday to his friend Thomas Dix who lived
at Stanford Rivers Hall, and Henley Hall near Ipswich. Dix was a fellow taxidermist and
Doubleday corresponded with him about cased birds and the ingredients for arsenical
soap (the preservative used to preserve bird skins) amongst other things.
There is also a letter from the well-known entomologist Edward Newman dated 1838
which is illustrated with a delightful hand drawn cartoon. Newman is renowned for his
work British Butterflies published in 1869 and for discovering the Glanville Fritillary
on the Isle of White in 1824.
Most interesting though are two letters dated 1842 and 1843 again on the subject of
taxidermy from a George Loddiges of Hackney. I can only think this is the famous
nurseryman of the firm of the same name. George was the son of Conrad Loddiges, a
Dutchman who came to England in about 1761 taking over a nursery in about 1771. The
nursery specialised in Camellias and hothouse plants. It is thought that their nursery
provided material for Loudon's famous Arboretum et Fructicetum Britannicum. George
died in 1846 and the firm ceased to exist around 1856.
This material is mentioned in Robert May's book about Henry Doubleday published in
1978 (note 184 p. 115) This small collection of Doubleday material is one of the more
important items in the Club's archive.
Fungus Foray to Stoneymore Wood, Mill Green, Wednesday
October 15th 2003
Graham Smith 48 The Meads, Ingatestone CM4 OAE
It is, perhaps, a peculiarity of mycologists that, each August, they hope not for blue
skies and hot sunshine but rather banks of cumulus and heavy downpours! Thanks to
stormy weather in late July the autumn fungi season got off to a promising start in this
area, several agarics being recorded during an afternoon ramble on the last day of the
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Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 44, May 2004