Article ID: CBB001321118

Charles Francis Adams: Diary of a Young American Taxidermist Visiting New Zealand, 1884--1887 (2014)

unapi

In December 1884 Charles Francis Adams (1857--1893) left Illinois, USA, by train for San Francisco and crossed the Pacific by ship to work as taxidermist at Auckland Museum, New Zealand, until February 1887. He then went to Borneo via several New Zealand ports, Melbourne and Batavia (Jakarta). This paper concerns a diary by Adams that gives a daily account of his trip to Auckland and the first six months of his employment (from January to July 1885). In this period Adams set up a workshop and diligently prepared specimens (at least 124 birds, fish, reptiles and marine invertebrates). The diary continues with three reports of trips Adams made from Auckland to Cuvier Island (November 1886), Karewa Island (December 1886) and White Island (date not stated), which are important early descriptive accounts of these small offshore islands. Events after leaving Auckland are covered discontinuously and the diary ends with part of the ship's passage through the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), apparently in April 1887. Adams's diary is important in giving a detailed account of a taxidermist's working life, and in helping to document the early years of Auckland Museum's occupation of the Princes Street building.

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Authors & Contributors
Tonn, Jenna
Lunde, Darrin
Kathleen Davidson
Wingerden, Pieter van
Karen Karen Lloyd D'Onofrio
Uwe Albrecht
Concepts
Natural history
Museums
Travel; exploration
Taxidermy
Diaries
Sea travel
Time Periods
19th century
18th century
20th century, early
20th century
17th century
Places
New Zealand
East Indies
Australia
United States
Great Britain
England
Institutions
Hunterian Museum (London)
Auckland Institute and Musem
Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen
Yellowstone National Park
Harvard University
British East India Company
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