Guide to the Papers of John Gould (as filmed by the AJCP), 1831-1880

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Summary

Collection number:

M725-M727, M2888-M2902

Creator:

Gould, John

Extent:

517 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

The bulk of the collection consists of the original manuscript notes and sketches collected by Gould for his book The Birds of Australia. Each folder (or notebook) has the name of the order or tribe written on the outside, and inside the folder the notes are divided by species. At the top of each sheet there is an illustration of the bird in question, of which some are lithographs from Gould's earlier work A Synopsis of the Birds of Australia and the Adjacent Islands (1837), while others are original watercolour paintings by Gould. In the margin are headings probably written by his secretary, Edward Prince, such as Latin name, English name, diet and locality inhabited, with manuscript notes and occasional rough sketches by Gould.

Letters, notes and lists by Gould: letters from Gould to Sir William Jardine 1835-1849 and to Alfred Newton 1856-1861 describing birds and specimens in Europe and Australia; three lists of Australian birds; a list of Swan River birds; and a list of the drawings by Aylmer B. Lambert in the possession of Lord Derby.

Letters of Australian and Pacific interest 1857-1876, written to Alfred Newton and chiefly relating to Gould's works on Australian birds. Correspondents include T. Allcock, J.J. Briggs, E. Prince, O. Salvin, P.L. Sclater, H.B. Tristram and A.R. Wallace.

The second part of the collection has been arranged alphabetically according to correspondent, and in chronological order within each folder.

Correspondence arranged in alphabetical order 1831-1886. Subjects include: Gould's publication Birds of Australia; sighting of birds; introduction of salmon into Tasmanian rivers; discovery of gold in Tasmania; dispatch of specimens; Elizabeth Coxen's drawings; Gould's collection of Australian birds; George French Angas; and expeditions of A.C. Gregory, John Gilbert, E. Kennedy, Ludwig Becker, Ludwig Leichhardt and John MacGillivray. Correspondents include Robert Ball, Charles Coxen, Stephen Coxen, Sir George Gipps, John Edward Gray, William J. Hooker, Sir William Jardine, Alfred Newton, Sir Richard Owen, Robert J. Shuttleworth and Ludwig Becker.

Australian collection 1844-64 including notes, letters and drawings pertaining to Australian mammals and birds. Subjects include: cassowary; dugong; drawings of George French Angas; and drawings of Southern hairy-nosed wombats. Correspondents include Johann G. Krefft.

Biographical / Historical:

John Gould (1804-1881) was born in Lyme Regis, Dorset. He first worked with his father as a gardener and later at the Royal Gardens at Windsor. In 1824 he set up in business as a taxidermist and in 1827 joined the staff of the Zoological Society of London as Curator and Preserver. He married Elizabeth Coxen, a talented artist, in 1829.

In 1831-32 Gould published in twenty monthly parts A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains, illustrated by his wife. It was followed by Birds of Europe, in five volumes. He brothers-in-law, Charles and Stephen Coxen, lived in New South Wales and sent him specimens of Australian birds. They aroused his interest in Australian birds and he resolved to make an expedition to Australia. Accompanied by his wife, son, two servants and a collector, John Gilbert, he arrived in Hobart in September 1838. After exploring Van Diemen's Land and the islands of Bass Strait, Gould spent most of his time in New South Wales and South Australia, while Gilbert collected birds in Western Australia. In New South Wales Gould was based mainly at the Coxen property at Yarrundi in the Hunter Valley. He and his party, with the exception of Gilbert, left Australia in May 1840. The first part of Birds of Australia appeared in December 1840. This celebrated work, totalling 36 parts bound in seven folio volumes and with 681 colour plates, was completed in 1848. Many of the drawings were the work of Elizabeth Gould, but after her death in 1841 other artists were employed.

Gould retained a strong interest in Australia and kept in touch with John Gilbert, Charles Sturt and other explorers and naturalists. In 1854-63 he produced in three volumes The Mammals of Australia and in 1865 Handbook to the Birds of Australia. He was also the author of The Birds of Asia (7 volumes) and The birds of Great Britain (5 volumes). Gould has often been described as the greatest figure in bird illustration alongside John James Audubon.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:: Available for Access.
Conditions Governing Use:: Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.