344 Minerals. 



lesser specimens arranged under glass in two small table-tops. 

 And until the British Museum could be made more accessible 

 to the public, the arrangement of additional specimens in a way 

 which would admit of their easy inspection was not a matter of 

 pressing importance. 



But those who took a great interest in the science of 

 mineralogy felt that there ought to be in the metropolis of the 

 Empire a well-arranged series of the best illustrations of the 

 mineral products of Nature; and, in the year 1799, during the 

 keepership of Dr. Edward Whitaker Gray, F.R.S., the Trustees 

 took an important step towards supplying the acknowledged 

 want by purchasing the minerals which had been collected by 

 Mr. Charles Hatchett, F.R.S. ; in the same year, on the death of 

 the Rev. Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode, F.R.S., who had long 

 been one of the Trustees, a collection of well-selected mineral 

 specimens came to the Museum by bequest. Thereupon, a small 

 series of the Cracherode minerals was arranged under glass 

 for facility of inspection, various other specimens were arranged 

 in wall-cases, and the Sloane and Hatchett specimens in general 

 were incorporated into a single systematic collection preserved 

 in 210 drawers; it was probably classified according to the 

 Linnsean system. 



1807-51. 



Assistant-keeper of Natural History . . 1807-13 



Keeper of Natural History . . . 1813-37 



Keeper of Minerals (including Fossils) . 1837-51 



Charles Dietrich Eberhard Konig, F.E.S. 



A further step was taken by the Trustees in 1807 ; in that 

 year Mr. Charles Konig (formerly Konig), on his appointment 

 as assistant-keeper of the Department of Natural History, was 

 instructed to give, in the first place, the whole of his available 

 time to the preparation of a catalogue of the systematic collec- 

 tion of minerals. During the following forty-four years, the 

 care of the Minerals was entrusted to him, first as an assistant- 

 keeper (1807-13) and afterwards as a keeper (1813-51) ; for 

 that long space of time he was the only officer of the Museum 

 directly concerned with the arrangement and development of the 

 Mineral Collection. But after 1813, when he became keeper of 

 the Department of Natural History, not only Minerals but also 

 Plants and Animals claimed his regard ; and, though he was 

 eventually relieved of the charge of the Recent Plants and 



