The Leverian collection was a natural history and ethnographic collection assembled by Ashton Lever. It was noted for the content it acquired from the voyages of Captain James Cook. For three decades it was displayed in London, being broken up by auction in 1806. The first public location of the collection was the Holophusikon, also known as the Leverian Museum, at Leicester House, on

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

, from 1775 to 1786. After it passed from Lever's ownership, it was displayed for nearly twenty years more at the purpose-built Blackfriars Rotunda just across the Thames, sometimes called Parkinson's Museum for its subsequent owner, James Parkinson (c. 1730-1813).

At Alkrington

Lever collected fossils, shells, and animals (birds, insects, reptiles, fish, monkeys) for many years, accumulating a large collection at his home at Alkrington, near

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. He was swamped with visitors, whom he allowed to view his collection for free, so much so that he had to insist that visitors that arrived on foot would not be admitted. (In other words, only those who could afford a carriage or a riding horse were welcome.) He decided to exhibit the collection in London as a commercial venture, charging an entrance fee.

At Leicester House

Charles Catton, Animals (1788) Page72 Image1

Lever acquired a lease of Leicester House in 1774, converting the principal rooms on the first floor into a single large gallery running the length of the house, and opened his museum in February 1775, with around 25,000 exhibits (a small fraction of his collection) valued at over £40,000. The display included many natural and ethnographic items gathered by Captain James Cook on his voyages.History of the Empire Theatre
(built on the site of Leicester House). The museum took its name from its supposedly universal coverage of natural history,''Survey of London: volumes 33 and 34: St Anne Soho''
(1966), pp. 441-72, from British History Online and was essentially a huge cabinet of curiosities. Lever charged an entry fee of 5s. 3d., or two guineas for an annual ticket, and the museum had a degree of commercial success; the receipts in 1782 were £2,253. In an effort to draw in the crowds, Lever later reduced the entrance fee to half a crown (2s. 6d.) and was constantly looking for new exhibits. He also set out his exhibits to impress the visitor, as well as (unusually) including educational information. However, he spent more on new exhibits than he raised in entrance fees. One admirer of the museum was

Philip Bury Duncan Philip Bury Duncan (1772–1863) was keeper of the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford. Life He was born in 1772 at South Warnborough, Hampshire, where his father was rector. He was educated at Winchester College (where he afterward ...

as a boy: he went on to become keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. Among the objects displayed was the large

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...

silver

thistle brooch The Celtic brooch, more properly called the penannular brooch, and its closely related type, the pseudo-penannular brooch, are types of brooch clothes fasteners, often rather large; penannular means formed as an incomplete ring. They are especial ...

from the Penrith Hoard, discovered by a boy in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

in 1785. In 1787, a print of it was published, claiming that it was the insignia of the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon ( la, Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order, o ...

. It was bought by the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

in 1909 (M&ME 1909,6-24,2).

Lottery for the collection

The British Museum and

Catherine II of Russia , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

both refused to buy the collection, so Lever obtained an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislat ...

in 1784 to sell the whole by

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree o ...

. He only sold 8,000 tickets at a guinea each - he had hoped to sell 36,000. The collection was acquired by James Parkinson, a land agent and accountant. It continued to be displayed at Leicester House until Lever's death in 1788, at a reduced entrance fee of one shilling.

Move south of the Thames

Parkinson transferred the Leverian collection to a purpose-built Rotunda building, at what would later be No. 3

Blackfriars Road Blackfriars Road is a road in Southwark, SE1. It runs between St George's Circus at the southern end and Blackfriars Bridge over the River Thames at the northern end, leading to the City of London. Halfway up on the west side is Southwark U ...

. Leicester House itself was demolished in 1791. Leverian museum at the Rotunda

A catalogue and guide was printed in 1790. Parkinson also had George Shaw write an illustrated scientific work; the artists involved included

Philip Reinagle Philip Reinagle (1749 – 27 November 1833) was an English painter of animals, landscapes, and botanical scenes. The son of a Hungarian musician living in Edinburgh, Reinagle came to London in 1763 and after serving an apprenticeship, later be ...

, Charles Reuben Ryley, William Skelton, Sarah Stone, and Sydenham Edwards. Some of John White's specimens were put on public display there for the first time. The museum also served as a resource and opportunity for women: Ellenor Fenn wrote ''A Short History of Insects'' (1796/7), for which the long title concludes as "a pocket companion to those who visit the Leverian Museum", and a similar volume on quadrupeds; the artist Sarah Stone continued to work for Parkinson, as she had done for Lever. Parkinson had some success in getting naturalists to attend the museum, which was easier at the time to visit than the British Museum. A visitor in 1799, Heinrich Friedrich Link, was complimentary.

Disposal of the collection

Parkinson also tried to sell the contents at various times. One attempt, a proposed purchase by the government, was wrecked by the adverse opinion of Sir Joseph Banks. In the end, for financial reasons, Parkinson sold the collection in lots by auction in 1806. Among the buyers were Edward Donovan,

Edward Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby (21 April 1775 – 30 June 1851), KG, of Knowsley Hall in Lancashire (styled Lord Stanley from 1776 to 1832, known as Baron Stanley of Bickerstaffe from 1832-4), was a politician, peer, landowner, b ...

, and William Bullock; many items went to other museums, including the Imperial Museum of Vienna. The contents of the museum are well recorded, from a catalogue of the museum created in 1784, and the sale catalogue in 1806, with a contemporary series of

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s of its contents by Sarah Stone. There are also sale catalogue annotations allowing, for example, the counting of 37 lots bought by

Alexander Macleay Alexander Macleay (also spelt McLeay) MLC FLS FRS (24 June 1767 – 18 July 1848) was a leading member of the Linnean Society, a fellow of the Royal Society and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Life Macleay was born on Ro ...

. The

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ar ...

bought 79 lots, and notes by William Clift survive. Purchases from the sale founded the collection of Richard Cuming. In all 7,879 lots were sold over 65 days.

Surviving specimens and objects

The specimens purchased by

were bequeathed to the people of Liverpool upon his death in 1851 and were part of the founding collection of what is now World Museum,

National Museums Liverpool National Museums Liverpool, formerly National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, comprises several museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool, England. All the museums and galleries in the group have free admission. The museum is a non ...

. Stanley bought approximately 117 mounted birds, representing some 96 species, at the auction in 1806. 82 specimens still survived in 1812, 74 in 1823, and at least 29 in 1850. Among the present collections of World Museum are 25 study skins (relaxed mounts) of 22 species recognized as having originated from the Leverian Sale. Nine are recognized as having been collected during the

second voyage of James Cook The second voyage of James Cook, from 1772 to 1775, commissioned by the British government with advice from the Royal Society, was designed to circumnavigate the globe as far south as possible to finally determine whether there was any great so ...

and

third voyage of James Cook James Cook's third and final voyage (12 July 1776 – 4 October 1780) took the route from Plymouth via Cape Town and Tenerife to New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands, and along the North American coast to the Bering Strait. Its ostensible ...

. * Black-spotted barbet, adult male, accession no. LIV D1466, Leverian lot no. 1039. The female specimen from the same lot (accession no. LIV D1466c) is lost. *

Barred honeyeater The barred honeyeater (''Glycifohia undulatus'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , ...

, adult, accession no. LIV D5322, Leverian lot no. 1106. This specimen is the holotype specimen of ''Certhia fusca'' Gmelin, 1788
Syst. Nat. 1, p. 472
and was first described as "Brown Creeper" by Latham, 1782
Gen. Syn. 1 (2), p. 732
. This specimen is also the type of ''Certhia fasciata'' Forster, 1844
Descr. Anim., p. 263
. It was collected during the

. *

Pacific long-tailed cuckoo The Pacific long-tailed cuckoo (''Urodynamis taitensis''), also known as the long-tailed cuckoo, long-tailed koel, sparrow hawk, home owl, screecher, screamer or in Māori, is a species of the Cuculidae bird family (the cuckoos). It is a mig ...

, adult, accession no. LIV D3995, Leverian lot no. 1407. This specimen was first described as "Society Cuckow" by Latham, 1782
Gen. Syn. 1 (2), p. 517
. *

European green woodpecker The European green woodpecker (''Picus viridis'') is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and the ...

, adult, accession no. LIV D1324f, Leverian lot no. 1418. This specimen is the "white variety". * Orange-winged amazon, adult, accession no. LIV D682, Leverian lot no. 1514. This specimen was described as "Brasilian Yellow-fronted Parrot var. E" by Latham, 1781
Gen. Syn. 1 (1), p. 287
. * Crested myna, adult, accession no. LIV D1504, Leverian lot no. 1757. *

Grey-winged trumpeter The grey-winged trumpeter (''Psophia crepitans'') is a member of a small family of birds, the Psophiidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonacco ...

, adult, accession no. LIV D252, Leverian lot no. 2436. * South Island kōkako, adult, accession no. LIV D4047, Leverian lot no. 2698. This specimen is a syntype specimen of ''Glaucopis cinereus'' Gmelin, 1788
Syst. Nat. 1, p. 363
and was first described as "Cinereous Wattle-bird" by Latham, 1781
Gen. Syn. 1 (1), p. 364
. It was collected during one of James Cook's voyages from Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui. This species is critically endangered and possibly extinct. *

Common starling The common starling or European starling (''Sturnus vulgaris''), also known simply as the starling in Great Britain and Ireland, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about long and has glossy black plumag ...

, adult, accession no. LIV D1417b, Leverian lot no. 3142. This specimen is albino and was described as "Var A, White Stare" by Latham, 1783
Gen. Syn. 2 (1), p. 3
. * Greater ani, adult, accession no. LIV D4027d, Leverian lot no. 4092. * Magnificent bird-of-paradise, adult, accession no. LIV D88, Leverian lot no. 4751. * Ancient murrelet, adult, accession no. LIV D3346, Leverian lot no. 5115. This specimen is a syntype specimen of ''Alca antiqua'' Gmelin, 1789
Syst. Nat. 1 (2), p. 554
and was first described as "Ancient Auk" by Latham, 1785
Gen. Syn. 3 (2), p. 326
. * ʻŌʻū, adult male and female, accession nos. LIV D1829 and LIV D1829a, Leverian lot no. 5488. These specimens are

syntype specimens In biological nomenclature, a syntype is any one of two or more biological types that is listed in a description of a taxon where no holotype was designated. Precise definitions of this and related terms for types have been established as part o ...

of ''Loxia psittacea'' Gmelin, 1789
Syst. Nat. 1 (2), p. 844
and was first described as "Parrot-billed grosbeak" by Latham, 1783
Gen. Syn. 2 (1), p. 108
. * Racket-tailed treepie, adult, accession no. LIV D575a, Leverian lot no. 5587. * Chattering kingfisher, adult, accession no. LIV D2326, Leverian lot no. 5612. This specimen was collected during one of James Cook's voyages, but is of doubtful type significance. * Purple-throated fruitcrow, adult, accession no. LIV D635, Leverian lot no. 6082. This specimen is a syntype specimen of ''Muscicapa rubricollis'' Gmelin, 1789
Syst. Nat. 1 (2), p. 933
and was first described as "Purple-throated flycatcher" by Latham, 1785
Gen. Syn. 2 (1), p. 365
. *

Stone partridge The stone partridge (''Ptilopachus petrosus'') is a bird of the New World quail family. This largely brown bird, which commonly holds its tail raised, is found in scrubland and lightly wooded habitats, often near rocks, from Kenya and Ethiopia to ...

, adult, accession no. LIV D1495b, Leverian lot no. 6083. * Guinea turaco, adult, accession no. LIV D97a, Leverian lot no. 27 (last day but two). * Ruddy shelduck, adult, accession no. LIV D849, Leverian lot no. 34 (last day but two). * Tui (bird), adult male and female, accession nos. LIV D1698a and LIV D1698g, Leverian lot no. 44 (last day but one). These specimens are

of ''Merops novaeseelandiae'' Gmelin, 1788
Syst. Nat. 1, p. 464
and was first described as "Poe bee-eater" by Latham, 1782
Gen. Syn. 1 (2), p. 682
. These specimens were collected during the

from Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui. * Large-billed seed finch, adult, accession no. LIV D2005a, Leverian lot no. 47 (last day but one). 1106. This specimen is the holotype specimen of ''Loxia regulus'' Shaw, 1792
Mus. Lev., p. 45
, a forgery perpetrated by adding a false crest of red feathers to a large-billed seed finch specimen. * African swamphen, adult, accession no. LIV D1824, Leverian lot no. 23 (last day of the sale). * Several hundred specimens (the exact number being unknown) of birds are in the collection of the

Natural History Museum, Vienna The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museum ...

. This includes a specimen (number NMW 50.761) of the extinct Lord Howe Swamphen. A number of ethnographic objects survive in the collections of the British Museum.

References

{{Reflist Entertainment in London Former buildings and structures in the City of Westminster 1775 establishments in England 1806 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct museums in London Private collections in the United Kingdom Natural history museums in England