President's Address. 105 



The purchase of the Montagu collection, as I am informed 

 by the Principal Librarian and Director of the British Museum, 

 Sir E. Maunde Thompson, K.C.B., was recommended by 

 Dr. D. Leach on the 14th June, 1816. The price was to be 

 £1200, payable in instalments. On the 15th June, the 

 purchase was agreed upon, Sir Joseph Banks having signified 

 his opinion that the price was reasonable, and on the 1st 

 of October, 1816, Dr. Leach reported to the Trustees the 

 safe arrival of the collection. 



The early history of the Bird Collection is, however, extremely 

 imperfect, since no registers were kept till the year 1837. 

 The influence of John Edward Gray was undoubtedly making 

 itself felt. He was a man of extraordinary energy, whose 

 sole idea was to make the Zoological Department of the British 

 Museum the greatest in the world, and he spared neither his 

 time nor his private purse in the endeavour. One of Gray's 

 greatest friends was General Hard wi eke, a retired Indian 

 officer, who presented a large number of mounted specimens 

 to the British Museum. Together the two friends published, 

 in 1820, the ' Illustrations of Indian Zoology,' the plates of 

 which were founded on native drawings brought home by 

 Hardwicke. 



With the foundation of the Zoological Society, however, 

 the British Museum encountered serious rivalry. All that was 

 best of the work of youthful zoologists of the time gravitated 

 to the Society, whose Museum rapidly developed in importance. 

 John Gould and Louis Eraser were among the early Curators, 

 the former a man of indomitable energy. To the Zoological 

 Society's Museum, therefore, went most of the principal 

 collections made during the voyages of the early part of the 

 18th century : such as Captain King's specimens from the 

 Straits of Magellan, Darwin's from the ' Voyage of the 

 Beagle,' and many others. 



Many of these old-time treasures were transferred to the 

 British Museum, when the Zoological Society determined to 

 give up its Museum. The choice of selection was left to 

 Mr. G. R. Gray, who appears to have overlooked a few of the 

 types, which afterwards passed into private hands at thé 

 subsequent sale of the Zoological Society's collection. 



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