92 THE entomologist's record. 



These European tours led him to give much consideration to the 

 Palaearctic Khopalocera many species of which he got to know in their 

 native habitats, and he was always anxious to get into correspondence 

 with collectors in the less easily worked districts, such as Spain, 

 Corsica, Cyprus, Central Italy, Sicily, etc. 



In looking through his library one finds many albums of views 

 illustrative of his various journeys. He invariably took a camera with 

 him and was accustomed on his return home to give a pictorial account 

 of his experiences, both locally and to the societies, of course from 

 different points of view. On his Balkan trip in 1912, just before the 

 Serbo-Turkish w^ar, it was a' constant source of regret to recall his 

 misfortune to find that all the photographs which he took in Herzgovina 

 and Montenegro were spoiled by a defective camera, a new one by the 

 bye. 



Latterly he had devoted much time to the study of the Lepidoptera 

 of Central America, of which he had formed a considerable collection, 

 mainly of specimens sent to him direct by his collectors. In working 

 out his consignments he made much use of the S. Kensington (Brit. 

 Mus.) collections, and was accustomed to place there types of any species 

 which he described, as he recognised this practice to be a duty which 

 should be universal. 



On subjects in which he took an interest he was ready to impart 

 information, and in a manner chatty and agreeable, terse and business 

 like, and always replete with facts and experiences local and personal. 



Mr. Gibbs was not a voluminous writer but extended notes of an 

 educational nature are numerous in the pages of most of our magazines 

 and proceedings of societies, with accounts of observations made on his 

 various journeys into out of the way parts, and summaries of facts and 

 suggestions for further study, all written with ease and lucidity. 



He was always ready to help others in their study and to do aught 

 for the advancement of the Science he loved so w^ell. 



The writer of these notes looked upon it as one of the " Pleasures 

 of his Life " to spend a day with him, divided between enjoying his 

 beautiful garden at Kitchener's Meads, consulting his fine collections, 

 helping him to work out a more or less abstruse point of identification 

 by means of his capital library of useful entomological books, or 

 wandering in some remote part of Hertfordshire, where new county 

 records were possible. 



When the S. E. Union of Scientific Societies visited St. Albans 

 some years ago, it was A. E. Gibbs who took upon himself the burden of 

 being local secretary and all those who were present at that Congress 

 know full well what a delightful time was spent and how smoothly 

 everything went. The success of the meeting was a meed of the 

 thorough organisation which he initiated. 



As one of the heads of a large publishing establishment, producing 

 three weekly newspapers, he had for many years spent a very busy life, 

 and there is no doubt that the worries of the times helped to 

 break down a constitution,, never very robust, which had been worked 

 to the utmost. For three months he struggled bravely against growing 

 weakness, and in spite of devoted attention, he succumbed at last, 

 passing peacefully away on March 3rd, in his native city of St. Albans, 

 at the age of 58, leaving his wife and three daughters, the eldest of 

 whom is passing a successful career at Oxford, to mourn their loss. — 

 H.J.T. 



