75 



EOBEET JACOB GOEDON. 

 (1741-1795.) 



By James Britten, F.L.S. 



The Biographical Index of British and Irish Botanists con- 

 tains the following entry : — 



"Gordon (fl. 1774-79). Colonel. Travelled in Africa, 



1774, and, with Paterson, 1777-79. Discovered and 

 drew many StapelicB. Masson, ' Stapelia,' pref. viii. ; 

 Journ. Bot. 1884, 145. Stapelia Gordoni Mass. 

 This summary, which represented all that was known at the time 

 of compilation, may now be considerably amplified ; as a conse- 

 quence of this, Gordon's name will disappear from the next 

 edition of our book, in which it is clear he has no claim to be 

 included, but it may be worth while bringing together such 

 information as exists about a remarkable man. 



In the sale of the Stafford Library at Sotheby's in November 

 last was included a collection of 400 watercolour drawings made 

 by Gordon in South Africa from 1777 to 1790 ; the drawings — 

 which included natives, quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, and plants as 

 well as plans and views of the district round the Cape and the 

 Orange Eiver — although somewhat crudely executed, are evidently 

 extremely accurate, and are furnished with descriptions in Dutch : 

 the views and plans, many of which are very large, are in two 

 volumes atlas elephant folio, the drawings in four volumes 

 elephant folio. The collection was purchased by Messrs. Maggs 

 Brothers, of 109 Strand, for £690, and was promptly placed on 

 the market by them at almost double the price — £1250. A 

 special catalogue ("Supplement to Catalogue 316") was issued 

 by them which contains reproductions of two of the maps, 

 of the drawing of a Hottentot man, woman, and child, of two 

 native groups, of a giraffe and another animal, and lists of the 

 animals and plants figured — of the latter in somewhat unfamiliar 

 form — e.g. " Orthnathogicum " for Ornithogalwn. 



The early history of the collection, however, is given in a 

 letter to Banks from Philip Gidley King (1758-1808), who at the 

 time of writing was Lieutenant-Governor of Norfolk Island but 

 was then in London. A copy of this is preserved in the Banksian 

 Correspondence, and may be worth transcription : — 



" London, May 27th, 1797. 

 " Sir, 



" Agreeably to your wish, I have informed myself 

 more fully respecting the Papers of the late Colonel Gordon, 

 brought to this Country by his widow. 



" The Charts, &c., are contained in two Boxes (which I saw 

 inspected yesterday at the Custom house). The largest Box 

 contains, as Mrs. Gordon informs me, a general Chart, smaller 

 Charts and Views of the Interior parts of Africa seen and visited 

 by her late husband, in all about ninety-five, with a Manuscript 



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