Mammals. 5 



Society's collection is less certain, this may be looked upon ;i^ 

 the oldest authentic specimen in the Museum collection of 

 Mammals. 



Next in age to the specimens enumerated by Grew comes the 

 skeleton of a young Chimpanzee, which was described by Dr. E. 

 Tyson in 1699 under the title of "Orang-outang, sive Homo 

 sylvestris ; or the anatomy of a Pigmie compared with that of a 

 Monkey, Ape, and a Man." It was presented by the Governors 

 of Cheltenham Hospital in 1894. 



Of nearly the same age are the spirit specimens figured and 

 described by Seba in 1734, among which are several Linnean 

 types. These were purchased in 1867 at the sale of the collection 

 of Prof. Van Lidth de Jeude (q.v. infra). 



About 1800, Dr. Latham presented to the Museum the typical 

 specimen of the Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). which had 

 been described by Shaw 4 in 1799. 



In 1816 the eminent French naturalist, de Blainville, paid a 

 visit to London, and certain specimens he then saw and described 

 would appear to be the next identifiable specimens chronologi- 

 cally. Of these the Museum possesses the typical face and horns 

 of the Addax (Addas nasomaculatus), which was then in Bullock's 

 Museum, and came later into the National Collection. 



Then followed, " on the 30th September, 1817," the important 

 collection of the great traveller, William Burchell, including 

 a considerable number of the types of his species. The majority 

 of his specimens are still represented by their skulls and horns, 

 even when the mounted skins have perished. 



From this date to 1837 the chief accessions were the RAFFLES 

 Collection (apart from those so disastrously lost in the Fame in 

 1824), the Hardwicke Bequest, and the series received from 

 cruizes of the Adventure and Beagle. 



At the same time the formation of the Zoological Society's 

 Museum, started by the "Zoological Club" in 1823, and carried 

 on until 1855 as an important branch of the Society's work, while 

 temporarily diverting collections that would otherwise have gone 

 direct to the National Museum, stimulated workers in all parts 

 of the world ; and since the resulting series came to their natural 

 home later on, nothing but benefit to the Museum arose from the 

 rivalry thus produced. 



1837. 

 Accessions, 219. 

 Commencement of registration by Dr. Gray, who about the 



