Birds, books and business: the life of Victorian ornithologist Henry Dresser. Manchester Museum SHOWCASE lecture on Wednesday 28th April at 15.00.
You are warmly invited to the Manchester Museum SHOWCASE lecture on Wednesday 28th April at 15.00.
Henry McGhie, Head of Natural Environments and Curator of Zoology, the Manchester Museum.
3-4pm: Kanaris Lecture Theatre
4-4.30pm: discussion, tea & coffee
Museums are filled with collections that were built up through the private passions of many people. Understanding these individuals and their motivations is a fascinating subject. In this talk, Henry McGhie explores the biography of Henry Dresser (1838-1915), a famous English ornithologist. This talk will set Dresser’s work on birds against a background of his family life and business connections. Dresser was a key figure in the development of the early bird conservation laws in Britain, the development of scientific societies and in the field of ornithology generally. Individuals such as Dresser were ultimately sidelined as large museums were established. Reconnecting with the lives of collectors offers an extremely rich way to understand museum collections.
http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/whatson/specialist/showcaselectures/
Contact:
joyce.tyldesley@manchester.ac.uk
Image: Henry Eeles Dresser (1838-1915). Source: Wikimedia Commons