92 
Historical and Type Collections. 
Glazed- 
cases, b, c, 
and e, and 
Stands d, 
and dd. 
A fine opalized tree Spondylostrobus from Tasmania, 
of Cedroxylon silicified woods from various localities, 
trunk of a tree from Purbeck Beds, Isle of Portland, and 
Sicilian a stems from the Coal Measures are placed do 
centre of this Gallery. 
a series 
a large 
several 
wn the 
Gallery, 
No. 11. 
Historical 
Collections. 
Sir Hans 
Sloane’s 
Collection, 
1753. 
Table-case 
No. 16. 
Brander 
Collection, 
1766. 
HISTORICAL AND TYPE COLLECTIONS, STRATI- 
GRAPHIC A L SERIES, ETC. 
Gallery No. 11. In this Gallery have been arranged, in 
seventeen cases, a series of nine Collections of historical and 
palaeontological interest, bearing upon the early history of the 
British Museum and the study of Geology and Palaeontology in 
this Country 
Taking the exhibition cases in chronological order , the earliest 
is the “ Sloan e Collection.” This is the most ancient portion of 
the Geological Collection, having formed a part of the Museum 
of Sir Hans Sloane, Bart., F.R.S., acquired by purchase for the 
Nation in 1 753. 
The geological specimens are stated to have consisted “ in 
what by way of distinction are called extraneous fossils, com- 
prehending petrified bodies, as Trees, or parts of them; Her- 
baceous plants (the Botanical and Zoological specimens are 
now preserved in their respective Departments), Animal sub- 
stances,” &c. ; and reported to be “ the most extensive and 
most curious that ever was seen of its kind.” Until 1857 
the Fossils and Minerals formed one collection, so that 
a large part of the “Sloane Collection” consisted probably 
of mineral bodies and not organic, but in any case only about 
100 specimens of invertebrate fossils can now be identified with 
certainty as forming part of the original Sloane Museum. Each 
specimen in the Sloane Collection had originally a number 
attached to it, corresponding to a carefully prepared Manuscript 
Catalogue, still preserved, which contains many curious entries 
concerning the various objects in the Museum. In the course 
of more than 130 years, many of these numbers have been 
detached from the objects or obliterated by cleaning. But as 
all fossils at this early date were looked upon merely as curiosities, 
but little attention was paid to the formation or locality whence 
they were derived. Historically, the collection has immense 
interest to us, marking the rapid strides which the science of 
Geology has made of late years, especially as regards its more 
careful and systematic methods of study. 
The next Collection in chronological order is the “ Brander 
Collection,” and is the earliest one in which types of named and 
described species have been preserved. 
