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William Bullock ( – 7 March 1849) was an English traveller, naturalist and
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic si ...
.


Life

Bullock began as a
goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and serviceabl ...
and
jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabrica ...
in Birmingham. By 1795 Bullock was in Liverpool, where he founded a Museum of Natural Curiosities at 24 Lord Street. While still trading as a jeweller and goldsmith, in 1801 he published a descriptive catalogue of the works of art, armoury, objects of natural history, and other curiosities in the collection, some of which had been brought back by members of
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
's expeditions. In 1809, Bullock moved to London and the collection, housed first at 22 Piccadilly and in 1812 in the newly built Piccadilly Egyptian Hall, proved extremely popular. The collection, which included over 32,000 items, was disposed of by auction in 1819. In 1810, Bullock figured briefly in a law case concerning
Sarah Baartman Sarah Baartman (; 1789– 29 December 1815), also spelt Sara, sometimes in the diminutive form Saartje (), or Saartjie, and Bartman, Bartmann, was a Khoikhoi woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under the n ...
, a
Khoikhoi Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also '' Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 May 2018. Citing G. S. ...
woman brought to England for purposes of exhibition as the "Hottentot Venus". Bullock had been approached by Alexander Dunlop, the army surgeon responsible for Baartman's arrival in England, but had declined to be involved in the proposed show.''The Times,'' 26 November 1810, p. 3 In 1822 Bullock went to Mexico where he became involved in silver mine speculation. He brought back many artefacts and specimens which formed a new exhibition in the Egyptian Hall. A second visit to Mexico, and to the United States, took place in 1827. Bullock bought land on the bank of the
Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illi ...
from Thomas D. Carneal where he proposed to build a
utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...
community named ''
Hygeia Hygieia is a goddess from Greek, as well as Roman, mythology (also referred to as: Hygiea or Hygeia; ; grc, Ὑγιεία or , la, Hygēa or ). Hygieia is a goddess of health ( el, ὑγίεια – ''hugieia''), cleanliness and hygiene. Her ...
'' (a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
word meaning health) laid out by
John Buonarotti Papworth John Buonarotti Papworth (24 January 1775 – 16 June 1847) was a British architect, artist and a founder member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He adopted the middle name "Buonarotti" in around 1815. As well as being active in ...
. The speculation was not a success, although some people, including
Frances Trollope Frances Milton Trollope, also known as Fanny Trollope (10 March 1779 – 6 October 1863), was an English novelist who wrote as Mrs. Trollope or Mrs. Frances Trollope. Her book, '' Domestic Manners of the Americans'' (1832), observations from a ...
, took part; Bullock sold the land to Israel Ludlow, Jr. in 1846

Bullock was back in London by 1843 and died there at 14 Harley Terrace, Chelsea. He was buried at St Mary's Church, Chelsea, on 16 March 1849. Bullock was a fellow of the Linnean Society, Linnean,
Horticultural Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
,
Geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
, Wernerian, and other learned societies, and published several pamphlets on natural history.


Works

* ''A Companion to the Liverpool Museum, containing a brief description of ... natural & foreign curiosities, antiquities & productions of the fine arts, open for public inspection ... at the house of William Bullock, Church Street''. Liverpool: T. Schofield, printer, ca. 1801., numerous editions. * ''A concise and easy method of preserving objects of natural history: intended for the use of sportsmen, travellers, and others; to enable them to prepare and preserve such curious and rare articles''. London: printed for the proprietor, 1818. 2. Ed. * ''Six months' residence and travels in Mexico; containing remarks on the present state of New Spain, its natural productions, state of society, manufactures, trade, agriculture, and antiquities, &c.''. London: John Murray, 1824. ** ''Sechs Monate in Mexiko oder Bemerkungen über den gegenwärtigen Zustand Neu-Spaniens von W. Bullock''. Aus dem Engl. übers. von Friedrich Schott. Dresden: Hilscher, 1825. ** ''Le Mexique en 1823, ou Relation d'un voyage dans la Nouvelle-Espagne, contenant des notions exactes et peu connues sur la situation physique, morale et politique de ce pays''. Paris: Alexis-Eymery, 1824. * ''A description of the unique exhibition, called Ancient Mexico: collected on the spot in 1823 ... for public inspection at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly''. London: Printed for the proprietors, 1824. * ''Catalogue of the exhibition, called Modern Mexico: containing a panoramic view of the city, with specimens of the natural history of New Spain ... at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly''. London: Printed for the proprietor, 1824 * ''A descriptive catalogue of the exhibition, entitled Ancient and Modern Mexico: containing a panoramic view of the present city, specimens of the natural history of New Spain ... at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly''. London: Printed for the proprietors, 1825. * ''Sketch of a journey through the Western States of North America: from New Orleans, by the Mississippi, Ohio, city of Cincinnati and falls of Niagara, to New York, in 1827''. London: Miller, 1827


References


Further reading

* * * Robert D. Aguirre: ''Informal Empire: Mexico and Central America in Victorian Culture''. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 2005. * William Bullock: ''Sketch of a Journey through the Western States of North America'', 1827.
Michael P. Costeloe: ''William Bullock and the Mexican Connection''. In: Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos, Summer 2006, Vol. 22, No. 2, Pages 275–309. Online-Version
*Papavero, N. & Ibanez-Bernal, S., 2001 Contributions to a history of Mexican Dipterology. Part I. Entomologists and their works before the Biologia Centrali-Americana. ''Acta Zoologica Mexicana Nueva Serie'' 84: 65–173. *Pearce, S. M. (2008) ‘William Bullock: Collections and Exhibitions at the Egyptian Hall, London: 1816–25’, ''Journal of the History of Collections'', 20, 17–35 *F.D. Steinheimer The whereabouts of pre-nineteenth century bird specimens ''Zool. Med. Leiden'' 79-3 (5), 30-ix-2005, 45–67.— ISSN 0024-067
pdf


External links


BHL
''A companion to Mr. Bullock's London Museum and Pantherion : containing a brief description of upwards of fifteen thousand natural and foreign curiosities, antiquities, and productions of the fine arts, collected during seventeen years of arduous research''.....(Bullock, William, Howitt, Samuel and Wells, John West ondonFirst Printed for the proprietor,1812. 12th Edition
pdf BHL
''Catalogue of the exhibition, called modern Mexico : containing a panoramic view of the city, with specimens of the natural history of New Spain, and models of the vegetable produce, costume, &c. &c. : now open for public inspection at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly'' London :Printed for the proprietor,1824 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullock, William 1770s births 1849 deaths English art collectors English antiquarians English naturalists English entomologists English goldsmiths People from Sheffield English Mesoamericanists Mesoamerican art collectors Fellows of the Linnean Society of London 19th-century Mesoamericanists