Correspondence of John Gould

A letter to 'Mr Marten' concerning a Jackdaw's egg [9 May 1867].

John Gould (1804 - 1881) was an ornithologist, taxidermist, collector, illustrator and publisher of books on birds.

Gould helped Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882) classify the bird specimens collected during the second voyage of the HMS Beagle. Gould went on to publish a number of books about birds including the seven-volume 'Birds of Australia' (1840 - 1848), 'Monograph of the Trochilidae or Humming Birds with 360 plates' (1849 – 61); the three-volume 'Mammals of Australia' (1845 - 1863); 'Handbook to the Birds of Australia' (1865), 'The Birds of Asia' (1850 – 83), 'The Birds of Great Britain' (1862 – 73) and 'The Birds of New Guinea and the adjacent Papuan Islands' (1875 – 88).

A number of birds have been named after Gould including 'Gould's petrel' (Pterodroma leucoptera); 'Gould's shortwing' (Brachypteryx stellata); Gould's inca (Coeligena inca); 'Dot-eared coquette' (Lophornis gouldii) and the 'Olive-backed euphonia' (Euphonia gouldi).

This collection is subject to various access conditions. Please see individual catalogue descriptions for further details on access.

Letter purchased from Quaritch/Christie on 5 May 1982.