76 THE MUSEUM OF THE vn 



The period occupied by John Hunter in the formation of 

 his collection was all comprised between thirty years 1763, 

 the date of his return from service with the army in Portugal, 

 and 1793, that of his death. The labour which he accom- 

 plished during this time was something prodigious, as has 

 often been recounted in various biographies and Hunterian 

 " orations." Notwithstanding all that has been written and 

 said, it is impossible to do justice to his wonderful activity 

 and industry. In nothing, however, were these qualities so 

 conspicuous as in the formation of his museum. 



Public museums in his time scarcely existed. The British 

 Museum was little more than a library and gallery of art ; 

 the small cabinet of natural history, reinforced by the 

 old collection of the Koyal Society, scarcely made any show. 

 Anatomical specimens, even bones and teeth, were looked 

 upon with disfavour. Some that had accidentally found their 

 way into the collection were, even within the present century, 

 treated as intruders, and turned out without much ceremony. 



Teachers of anatomy were forming their own private 

 collections, but these were all eclipsed by those of the two 

 Hunters, William and John. That of the latter especially 

 grew to such an extent as to become in some sort a national 

 and public institution. He built a large room to contain it 

 in Castle Street, at the back of his house in Leicester Square, 

 and when finally arranged there, so much interest was taken 

 in it that he found it necessary to open it to public inspection 

 at certain stated times. Still it was maintained entirely at 

 his own cost, and it is stated that by the time of his death 

 he had spent upwards of 70,000 upon it. Whether this 

 estimate be correct or not, his expenditure on it must have 

 been very great, as though he had for many years made one 

 of the largest professional incomes in London, his museum was 

 the sole property he left behind. 



John Hunter was a very miscellaneous collector minerals, 

 coins, pictures, ancient coats of mail, weapons of various dates 

 and nations, and other so-called " articles of vertu" engaged 

 his attention. These, however, and his furniture and books, 

 had to be sold to meet the most pressing needs of the family. 

 What would be now called the "biological" part of his 



