The Hancocks: Scientists in the Studio

An online project complementing an exhibition at the Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 24 April to 21 May, 2013.

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Thank You!

Well that is it. Over. Done. Finished...

Or so it seems!

Whilst we thought we were heading into the last couple of days of our exhibition being housed in the brilliant surroundings of the Great North Museum: Hancock, it turns out we shall be running for two more months - until mid July! So get down to see it if you already haven't!

However, unfortunately we have no more blog posts to offer.

A massive thank you to all those who have read our blog and followed the Hancock brothers over the past couple of months. It has been a pleasure designing, writing, and publishing these blogs and we hope you have enjoyed reading them and visiting this site as much as we have enjoyed designing the site and writing the blogs. 

You can still ask John (@johnhancock1808) and Albany (@albanyhancock) questions on twitter, ask us any questions here, or even submit your own thoughts by clicking on the 'submit' button.

Thank you!

From all the team

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The unit of life

The cell theory is integral to areas of research in science - genetics, biology, botany and zoology. It is regarded as one of the greatest observations to come out of the 19th century. The era during which the Hancocks lived was truly fascinating, indeed. Han-Wen looks back at the events that led to this groundbreaking theory…

  One of the greatest scientific achievements of the 19th century is the Cell Theory. Describing the properties of cells, the basic unit of every living thing, the theory was developed by Matthias Jacob Schleiden (1804-1881) and Theodor Schwann (1810-1882).

  Actually, the cell was first seen by Robert Hooke in 1665. He examined (under a coarse, compound microscope) very thin slices of cork and saw a multitude of tiny pores that he remarked looked like the walled compartments a monk would live in. Hooke called them cells; however, he did not know their real structure or function.

In 1674, it was Anton van Leeuwenhoek who observed a live cell (also bacteria) under a microscope and called them ‘animalcules’, meaning ‘little animals’.

  It was not until the 19th century that Ludolph Christian Treviranus and Johann Jacob Paul Moldenhawer proposed that the cells were separable, living units. In 1838, Schleiden claimed that cell was the basic unit of plants; a year later Schwann extended the theory to animals.

  The cell theory is a widely accepted explanation of the relationship between cells and living things nowadays, stating:

All living organisms are composed of one or more cells.

The cell is the basic unit of structure, function, and organisation in all organisms.

All cells come from pre-existing, living cells.

                                                   Charles Brisseau Milbel (1776-1854) deemed that plants were made up of cells, all parts of which were in continuity and formed one and the same membranous tissue.

Jean-Baptiste de Lamark (1744-1829) perceived that cellular tissue is the general matrix of all organisation and no living body would be able to exist without it. In 1855, Rudolf Virchow claimed that all cells come from pre-existing cells, completing the classical cell theory.

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Up close and personal with John Hancock

Fei Lin looks at the character and nature of John Hancock; not just as a scientist, but as a man…

 John Hancock’s power of enduring fatigue was trained by his insistence on obtaining his specimens. The only temporary interruption to his pursuit of ornithological life was in 1860; he began to undertake landscape-gardening, since his taste was appreciated by some of his friends. His sketches of birds showed how impressively accurate his observations were, and how exquisite his depiction was. The conversation between his friends showed how well he knew the characters and habits of his favourites, due to the reason that he could vividly describe and imitate those birds’ motions and sounds by feature, voice and posture. What he did was not only instructive but at the same time amusing.

 John Hancock - almost everyone who knew him can testify that he was sympathetic, unassuming, and straightforward. In addition to the above virtuous characteristics, he was fond of children, though he led an unmarried life. John was not only pleased to impart knowledge to students, but anyone who was interested in his favourite field. He was always willing to contribute his abundant knowledge, eager to draw young people to the richness of Natural History, and to encourage them to observe carefully. Many middle aged people, even those who were outstanding in other walks of life, enjoyed and benefited a lot from John’s teaching.

According to a passage from the letter of Admiral St. John, John Hancock’s influence on children was very marked, his kind and gentle demeanor drew the young hearts to him. He taught the boys - during his stay in Morayshire - to train and fly the Peregrine and the Merlin. In the following years, they collected birds, shells, and John taught them about other Natural History objects.

 John Hancock’s strong enthusiasm for nature was infectious, gradually passed to people around him.  

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The best of both worlds: Science and Art today

The combination of art and science is not just a concept used by John and Albany; Kay discusses how it still has great prevalence today…

‘Homos luminosos’. Rosaline de Thelin used fibre optics in this art installation depicting the human form.

    A lot of the content we have posted has shown how the Hancock family merged the fields of science and art, yet this combination is not something which was just restricted to the period in which they lived, but is very much present today.

The Wellcome Trust holds Art Awards to celebrate ‘imaginative and experimental arts projects that explore biomedical science’. There are several awards to be claimed, which look to fund originality within the piece of art work, but also several considerations within biomedical science, including its ethics and the debates surrounding the field. The awards are there to promote learning both in an informal and formal setting, encouraging a new way of thinking.

Check out this article from The Guardian which discusses collaborations between artists and scientists; artist-geneticist, neuroscientist-theatre director teams, just to name a few: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/aug/21/collaborations-between-artists-and-scientists

One of the joint projects discussed in The Guardian is about a video ‘Electric Hotel’, a partnership between theatre director David Rosenberg and Professor David McAlpine, director of University College London’s Ear Institute. Rosenberg wanted to create an illusion wherein the audience felt like they were in the room with the people in the video. Prof. McAlpine, whose research work into brain mechanisms for spatial hearing and detecting sounds in noisy environments, proved key to the effects Rosenberg wanted to achieve. Take a look at the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0zJfa_VhKWM

The Art and Science Journal is a Canadian bi-annual journal and website which is ‘devoted to art concerned with science, nature and technology’. It focuses on what happens when the fields collide, promoting the education and inspiration of students and art science enthusiasts.

An article posted on 12 April 2013 featured the work of Spanish artist Rosaline de Thelin on display at the Kinetica Art Fair in London.  de Thelin's ‘Homos luminosos’ are floating human forms made of shimmering light. The work uses technology to create this illusion of light and forms, forms which lose their physicality and poetic mystery as the visitor walks among them.

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The Charles Darwin Connection

Albany Hancock and Charles Darwin were esteemed colleagues. Britt gives us an insight into the collaboration of two brilliant scientific minds, through another diary entry by Mary Jane...

8th February 1868

Dear Diary,

This morning, my beloved brother, Albany, came rushing into my office whilst I was pressing some plant leaf samples that I collected recently. Albany was very excited as he has received a letter from Charles Darwin, in which he was asking Albany for help on one of his important scientific research projects.

Darwin’s enquiry was about the specimens of Nudibranchs, a group of soft-bodied, marine gastropod molluscs. Darwin was wondering about the reasons for the great diversity of their outward appearance in terms of their shape, pattern and colour. Albany is really versed in the field of Nudibranchs as it is one of his specialities. What an honour for my older brother to have the possibility to share his broad knowledge with the great Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin is equally fortunate to have Albany as a colleague, for his expert anatomical skill.

According to Albany’s latest research findings, the colours of Nudibranchs are influenced by their biosphere (ecosystem) to provide a better protection from natural predators, and not by their sex, as often assumed. My brother’s research in this area is not yet complete, as there are a few species of Nudibranchs that cut across this theory. But I’m sure that Albany will clear up this mystery very soon.

Lots of Love, Mary Jane  

A colourful Nudibranch species Berghia coerulescens. The diversity of colours observed in Nudibranchs was one of the topics discussed in letters between Albany Hancock and Charles Darwin.

Read the letters on the Darwin Correspondence Project: http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/

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Victorian high flyers in St. Mary’s Terrace

Not many people know where the Hancock family lived in Newcastle. Ingrid introduces life in their house and finds out who their neighbours were…

John, Albany and Mary Jane Hancock lived and worked from their home at 4 St Mary’s Terrace from 1838 to 1890. The original house is now part of a listed terrace, on the Great North Road located opposite the Hancock Museum. The house was supposedly to have acted as their first museum, storing their growing collections before their dream of a real museum devoted to natural history was achieved.

On alternate Wednesday evenings, 4 St Mary’s Terrace played host to John’s group of naturalists called Tyneside Naturalists' Field Club. The members used to meet at each other’s home in rotation to enjoy each other’s company and discuss their discoveries and theories, as well as take field trips to collect items. This was a part of the Natural History Society of Northumbria which is still active today through its membership, nature reserve, and archive in the Great North Museum: Hancock.

The Bird Room, Hancock Museum c1908.

The family played a part in the nearby Jesmond Dene society and had a keen interest in improving amenities in Tyneside. John Hancock was particularly interested in town planning and landscaping, he had ideas for the preservation of the Town Moor and Saltwell Park in Gateshead. A few doors down from the Hancocks' lived Thomas Sopwith; a land surveyor, engineer and polymath. Both the Sopwith family and the Hancocks were acquainted with Lord William Armstrong, a well-regarded Tyneside industrialist who lived at Cragside – famous for being the first house in the world to be lit using hydroelectric power.

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Camera Obscura, Edinburgh

The intricate relationship between Arts and Science has enchanted people for many years. Jack looks at a small, unassuming museum in Edinburgh that combined both disciplines in the nineteenth century to enthrall people, and still does so today…

  On the edge of the Royal Mile, a stone’s throw away from the iconic and timeless Edinburgh castle sits a truly engaging and wonderful museum. Situated in an unassuming little house, Camera Obscura, one of the most popular and visited museums in the city, cleverly combines science and art to create one of the most enjoyable experiences on offer to tourists and locals alike.

The museum has been enchanting people since 1835 and its main pull is its use of mind bending physics and visual tricks using lights, mirrors, refraction, and illusion to create stunning visuals for the visitor.

This museum is timeless. It successfully combined key concepts from the world of art and science available in the nineteenth century, rather like John and Albany Hancock did. The fact that it is still an extremely popular and critically acclaimed attraction shows how the intertwined relationship between art and science is timeless. It can create such enjoyment and joy for so many people of all ages, from those entranced by John Hancock’s Struggle with the Quarry to those awed by the rainbow of colours caused by light refraction, or brought to fits of laughter seeing reality distorted through shaped mirrors.

Can you think of any more enjoyable instances brought about by the combination of art and science?

Do you think the Hancock’s would have visited Camera Obscura? If so, do you think they would have enjoyed it?

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Triton’s Trumpet

Beimote discusses how shells have been used for thousands of years to create art whilst being essential to the life of sea snails.

  This mollusc with a trumpet-shaped shell, belongs to class Gastropoda.It derives its name from the Greek god Triton, the son of Poseidon (god of the sea).

  Triton and Poseidon are often depicted with the Triton’s Trumpet shell.

  It is a predatory sea snail, located in the indo-Pacific faunal zone, and can sometimes grow up to half a metre in length. The adult snail has the ability to capture and eat starfish by sawing it with its sharp edges, and secreting its poisonous paralysing saliva before sucking up the innards. Sounds lethal! Lethal, but beautiful though.

Humans use its shell for home decorating!

Some ancient African societies used it as a symbol of wealth and authority, and are usually kept by their rulers. These rulers are buried with it based on the belief that the dead can spend money on their journey to the other side.

Here are some artistic ideas:

 Triton shell with elaborate surface decoration including flies, crickets, frogs, and snakes:

(Image credits: http://hum.lss.wisc.edu/hjdrewal/IgboUkwu.html)

  A poster design:

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The Great Exhibition of 1851

John’s taxidermy was featured in the Great Exhibition in 1851. This was the first in a series of world fairs devoted to culture and industry. They were popular events which were to take place throughout the 19th century. Jack gets into the mind of John Hancock before, during and after the exhibition...

Do you believe this is a work of art or science? Can it be both?

2nd February 1851 - I have been asked to prepare a piece of taxidermy for the Great Exhibition which takes place in Hyde Park in London from May 1 to October 15 1851. This is an international exhibition and is one of the first in a series of World’s Fair exhibitions of culture and industry. I will have to produce some of my best works in order to impress everyone in London, and even perhaps her Majesty, Queen Victoria. This is an excellent opportunity for me as I am from a working class family and honours such as this are unheard of.

1st June 1851 – The Exhibition has been up for a month now and so far it has been a huge success! All three cases of my dramatised taxidermy have received a lot of praise. Apparently even Queen Victoria herself stopped to look at them. Of course this could all be a rumour as unfortunately I did not manage to see it. The most popular piece was the one I named: ‘Struggle with the Quarry’. It shows a Gyrfalcon attacking a heron, while the heron was trying to catch an eel; the eel has seized on this opportunity and is making its escape. It is a very dramatic piece of which I am very proud, as I believe it to be visually pleasing, however, it also shows the power of nature. It clearly indicates that there is indeed a food chain and that whilst the heron has power over the eel; the Gyrfalcon has power over the heron. I believe Charles Darwin is working on a book that truly assesses this idea, but Albany tells me he is a couple of years away from finishing it. From what I hear it shall shake many people’s beliefs about the relationship between science and religion to the core.

16th October 1851 – Well the exhibition is over. Many people have requested pieces of taxidermy from me so I feel my stock has risen somewhat. I am back in my studio in Newcastle working on more pieces for scientific study and pieces that have been commissioned by generous and interested individuals. I like the fact taxidermy has a scientific edge to it, as it is used by many as a way of truly understanding the anatomy of an animal, yet I also enjoy making great works of art through this discipline. It does have a dual purpose. Oh well I have rambled on enough now. Back to work…

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John Hancock, social butterfly!

In the days before Twitter and Facebook, John Hancock still managed to be quite the social networker! Heather gives us a glimpse into John’s world of friends (not just the feathered kind)...

Correspondence, made accessible online by the Natural History Society of Northumbria, reveals that John Hancock socialised with the high flyers of nineteenth century society.

In 1881, Lord Armstrong (the famous industrialist and big name in nineteenth century Newcastle) sent John this letter:

It invites John to socialise with Armstrong, his wife Lady Armstrong, Lord and Lady Percy, Lord and Lady Ridley and other members of the local aristocracy, at Cragside – Armstrong’s beautiful home and now a popular National Trust property.

Not only was John invited to such an auspicious occasion, he was such a socialite that he actually turned it down in order to attend another event with the daughters of the famous wood engraver Thomas Bewick! 

This unique collection of John’s correspondence also reveals that in addition to being a man about town, John was sought after by V.I.Ps for his distinctive mix of artistic and scientific knowledge.

In 1851, Charles William George St. John (a naturalist and famed sportsman), wrote to John about two Peregrine Falcons he sent from Scotland:

St. John asks Hancock to use his scientific knowledge to identify a bird based on only seven of its feathers. In the same letter, he asks for John’s opinion concerning the composition of a taxidermy piece of the birds. He even poetically describes the bird’s environment as ‘a lovely green little nook, covered with primroses and blue hyacinths’ and includes his own sketches:

Clearly, St. John knew that colourful language and visual impressions would be appreciated by John Hancock’s artistic disposition.

  Find out more about John Hancock’s hectic social life at: http://www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk/news/cms/correspondence-j-hancock/

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John Hancock, a man of many talents

John Hancock, in addition to being an accomplished ornithologist and taxidermist, was gifted with artistic prowess.  Corina introduces you to John, the artist.

  Can you guess what this is?

    ...a polar bear in a snowstorm!

  The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the largest carnivore that lives on land.  A specimen from Davis Strait, Greenland was brought back to Newcastle in 1835 by Richard Warham, captain of the whaling ship Lord Gambier.

  John Hancock was given the task of stuffing the polar bear, which became one of the most impressive and important specimens in the collections of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne. The much-loved  polar bear, later named “Eric”, is believed to be one of the oldest mounted bears in the UK today.

  Anybody can draw three blobs on a piece of paper, just like I did.  John’s artwork was much more impressive!  Here is a sample of his other pursuits:

    Sculpture, green woodpeckers in bronze

    Pencil and watercolour drawing of a Falcon

    Lead eagle sculpture. This eagle is one of a pair that used to stand on the gateposts of the Hancock Museum.

  Pencil sketch of Eric the Polar Bear

Can you spot Eric in the Great North Museum: Hancock? Have a little contest with your family or friends during your next visit!

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Mary Jane, avid artist

Mary Jane Hancock was truly inspired by the world around her. She captured the beauty of her environment – both built and natural - in her several pencil and watercolour drawings. Angela narrates how and where these drawings were found...

This drawing captures a charming and peaceful scene of a thatched cottage surrounded by a small garden, two cows, and rolling hills. Walking towards the cottage door is Albany Hancock with Miss Jane Bewick.

    According to the Natural History Society of Northumbria, Mary Jane’s drawings were found at two different locations in the UK.

Seven of Mary Jane's pencil and watercolour sketches were discovered in London by a member of the Natural History Society of Northumbria. They were purchased and most generously donated to the Society. The sketches were believed to have been taken to Cumbria in 1836 whilst Mary Jane was there on holiday with Miss Jane Bewick, the eldest daughter of wood engraver Thomas Bewick. The distinguished collection is extraordinary to the Society's archives, and illustrates the close relationship between the Hancock and Bewick families.

  Snowdrop bulbs in flower

Watercolour on paper

253 x 205mm

Signed ‘M J Hanck’ in pencil

  A collection of twenty-four pencil and watercolour sketches were found at 144 Hotspur Street, Heaton in Newcastle-upon-Tyne by Mr. Keith A. Benbow, and presented to the Hancock Museum.  The sketches included various work such as still life, landscape, human studies and family portraits. Seventeen of them are signed by MJH and one by T. A. Hancock. Only one is dated (March 1889).

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Biomimetic Art: A hybrid of art and science

The beauty created through the fusion of art and science still exists today. Yousef explores the wonderful world of Biomimicry, a relatively new discipline in which humans imitate the designs and ideas perfected by the natural world…

  Osso Buco sculptural chairs by Ninna Helena Olsen and Lisbeth Hjorslev Toustrup. Osso Buco means “hole in the bone” in Italian.

  Our natural world - with all its superb forms, colors, patterns and systems - has always been a source of  inspiration for artists and scientists. Humans in general, have always been fascinated by the brilliance and resilience of the planet we are living on, and have looked at nature for answers to both complex and simple problems throughout our existence. Those answers are usually interpreted in forms of art or science, subjects which have long been enamoured with each other, albeit on more abstract levels. However, biomimicry as art borrows from science in the most literal of ways.

  Biomimicry literally means the imitation of life, and biomimetic art is a world of innovation where the two realms of art and science are merged to create a greater understanding of the world around us. It is a new discipline that studies nature's ideas, and then imitates these designs and processes to create art and solve human problems.

  The core idea is that nature, imaginative by necessity, has already solved many of the problems we are grappling with. Animals, plants, and microbes are the ultimate artists and scientists. They have found what works, what is appropriate, and most important, what lasts here on Earth. This is the real news of biomimicry: after 3.8 billion years of research and development, failures are fossils, and what surrounds us possess the secret to survival.

  A bird's skull was the inspiration for this shoe design by Marieka Ratsma and Kostika Spaho.

  Like the viceroy butterfly imitating the monarch, we humans are imitating the best-adapted organisms in our habitat. We are learning, for instance, how to harness energy like a leaf, grow food like a prairie, build ceramics like an abalone, self-medicate like a chimp, create colour like a peacock, compute like a cell, and run a business like a hickory forest.

Zaha Hadid’s design for a performing arts centre. Hadid explains that the performance spaces “spring from the structure like fruits on a vine”.

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A day in the life of Mary Jane

John and Albany were enthusiastic naturalists. Were they too enthusiastic for their poor sister Mary Jane though? After all she had to live with their enthusiasm all her life. Kay gets into the mind of Mary Jane to truly understand what living with John and Albany was like…

  21st July 1853

Dear Diary,

Albany, John and I have spent the weekend at our dear friends’ - the Bewicks - house in the country; you may know it as Close House.

While we were there, such a frightful incident occurred involving a moth. The moth flew into the house and at first appeared to be the size of a bat. Albany and John set about to catch the intruder, their obvious interest being to study the creature. Yet when they approached it, the moth let off a scream which resembled that of a mouse!  Once captured, they discovered it was a “Death’s Head Moth” (whatever that may be) and have decided to donate it to the Natural History Society. They have spent the rest of our time here being absolutely fascinated by it.

I, however, have spent the weekend painting landscapes and going for walks. I have not been able to drag Albany away from that ghastly creature to accompany me on a walk, so Isabella Bewick kept me company. I painted some fabulous pictures of the countryside and the house.

Oh, John has just bounded in to tell me more facts about the moth; apparently it receives its name from having immediately behind its head a large and perfect representation of the head of a human skeleton. All this talk about moths is beginning to bore me. How I cannot wait to be back in the city of Newcastle again to be away from these two boys and see the rest of my family!

Lots of Love,

Mary Jane

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Musical Musings

Have you ever worked on a project whilst listening to your iPod or MP3 player? In the 19th century John, Albany, and Mary Jane Hancock did not have this luxury. What if they did though? If they were alive today, what songs would they be humming to whilst working? Christine creates the ultimate playlist for them…

  Albany:

1) Song: Nada Surf- See These Bones

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyZ11ZiVbo8)

Reason: After leaving his law practice, Albany devoted himself to natural history and became a skilled anatomist.

2) Song: Vetiver- Rolling Sea

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHydFgw0D3A)

Reason: Albany often travelled out to sea in search of nudibranchs and other molluscs, eventually discovering over 30 new species.

Watercolour painting of nudibranchs by Albany.

3) Song: Damien Jurado- Letters & Drawings

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niF7DBA2wr0)

Reason: Returning home from his voyages, Albany produced beautiful sketches of the organisms he collected and also corresponded with many other scientists.

4) Song: The Low Anthem- Charlie Darwin

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jQHKdNAWQo)

Reason: Among his important correspondents, Albany often exchanged letters and ideas with Charles Darwin about molluscs.

5) Song: The Fray- Vienna

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCh1MdBhieM)

Reason: Albany was elected a member to the Imperial and Royal Zoological and Botanical Society of Vienna in 1862 for his great scientific achievements.

  John:

1) Song: Coldplay- Up With The Birds

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr0ecSWIG-k)

Reason: John left the family business in order to pursue his passion for natural history, and he became especially interested in birds.

2) Song: The Mountain Goats- High Hawk Season

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMj6tCQ1MNc)

Reason: Through his studies, John became an expert in birds of prey like hawks and falcons.

John at work in his studio. Oil painting by H. H. Emmerson.

3) Song: Rizzle Kicks- Traveller’s Chant

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKMTEgHAU7g)

Reason: John would often travel to many places in search of falcons to bring home in order to practice his taxidermy skills.

4) Song: Beach House- Norway

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciHpW0rlKcM)

Reason: One such collection expedition took John all the way to Norway.

5) Song: The Clash- London Calling

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vHvzybkqfo)

Reason: A major highlight of his career, John displayed some of his taxidermy mounts at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London.

    Mary Jane:

1) Song: Radical Face- Welcome Home

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8a4iiOnzsc)

Reason: Mary Jane was very family-oriented and helped to make a loving home for her siblings.

2) Song: Sufjan Stevens- Sister

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIKZAeRU44Y)

Reason: At home, Mary Jane was a dedicated sister who loved her older brothers and took care of them.

3) Song: The Kooks- Seaside

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbnvqCqz7_k)

Reason: Mary Jane would often travel to the coast in order to observe marine life and collect shells.

Watercolour painting by Mary Jane.

4) Song: Eva Cassidy- Fields of Gold

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGwDYBWEDSc)

Reason: Mary Jane also took trips into the countryside to look at organisms in their natural environment.

5) Song: Rocky Votolato- White Daisy Passing

                        (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaG2xINk5B4)

Reason: While in the fields, Mary Jane was especially interested in drawing and collecting flowers and other plants.

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The Foundation of the Natural History Society of Northumbria

Albany Hancock was one of the founder members of the Natural History Society of Northumbria, a group that is still around and strong today. Rachael discusses how the Society has shaped the Great North Museum: Hancock into what it has become today...

    “On the 19th of August 1829, the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne (now the Natural History Society of Northumbria) was formed with the objectives of the pursuit of natural sciences and the development of the museum.” (http://www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk/)

Albany Hancock - an expert anatomist, taxonomist and palaeontologist - was one of the original members of the society and was given the position of honorary curator. John, Albany's younger brother, was also a member of the society since its inception.

  The society’s first logo, 1831

The collections held by the society expanded greatly over a short amount of time. In order to house and display their collections, a museum named the Newcastle Museum was built in 1834 behind the Literary & Philosophical Society's building. The museum was opened to the public once a month in the evening, which proved to be very popular, due to the growing interest in natural science. This museum no longer exists, and is now part of Newcastle’s Central train station. 

  The Cullercoats Party by Henry Perlee Parker (1818), one of the paintings in the Society's collections.

The Tyneside Naturalists' Field Club within the Natural History Society was founded by John Hancock in 1846. The purpose of this club was to record birds, plants and geology in their real life settings. 

In 1878, plans were issued to build a new museum, large enough to house the extensive collections. The main force behind this new museum was John Hancock, who was responsible for the fundraising and organising of this project. The Museum of Natural History was opened in 1884, and later renamed The Hancock Museum in memory of John and Albany. Today, the museum is known as the Great North Museum: Hancock.

  The Hancock Museum, Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1902.

“The Society still maintains its magnificent natural history library and archives and the nature reserve at Gosforth Park as well as carrying out research and promoting the study of the natural sciences by providing lectures, field outings and education courses and publishing scientific papers. 180 years after its foundation the Society remains very active with over 950 members.” (http://www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk/about-history.php)

  Connect with the Natural History Society of Northumbria on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Natural-History-Society-of-Northumbria/364517976895711

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Taxidermy: Bringing Animals Back to Life

John Hancock is known as the ‘Father of Taxidermy’, he was arguably the most skilled in this field making beautiful works of art and preparing scientific specimens for study. Have you ever wondered how taxidermy works? Megan leads you through the basics of this fascinating and sometimes gruesome practice…

John Hancock was sometimes called the ‘father of taxidermy’. The art of taxidermy had become incredibly popular during his time. What was originally just a way for natural scientists to study specimens for research became an art form. Animals of all species began being displayed, not just for science, but in museums, galleries, and even private parlours. Done right, taxidermy can be a work of art as well as a research specimen.

So, how was it done? Here is a brief overview of how these animals are immortalised through taxidermy.

  Step 1: Pick the animal to be stuffed.

In the 19th century, it was common for a person to go hunting, shoot an animal, and bring it back to be mounted. Nowadays, most taxidermists use animals that had a ‘natural mortality’ (or those that may have been hit on the roadway). Be sure to pick one of good quality.

  Step 2: Empty it out.

This part is not for those with uneasy stomachs. All the blood, bones, and organs must be removed, as well as the fat from the hide. This is then cleaned and coated with borax powder, an insecticide. In Victorian times, arsenic was a popular choice.

  Step 3: Give it a bath.

The animal must be thoroughly cleaned. Pay extra attention to the ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and paws.

  Step 4: Let it see!

Before stuffing, the eyes have to be inserted from the inside. Although acrylic eyes are cheaper, glass eyes give a much more life-like feel. The eyes must be carefully selected, paying attention to size, shape, and colour. You must also ensure they are accurate for the species you are mounting.

  Step 5: Shape it!

This part of the process requires the most skill. Some modern taxidermists have plastic moulds or mannequins that give the animal its shape. Another approach, or for more uncommon animals, is to stuff the animal skin with wood wool and wires. Mould the wood wool into the shape you want before stuffing the animal.

John Hancock was one of the first to make his animals appear life-like. It is important to remember to make the animal look real, as well as making sure the pose you choose is a natural one.  Keep in mind: Birds with outstretched wings require sufficiently more skill and time to achieve a life-like appearance.

  Step 6: A finished product!

Sew up the animal skin and attach to the base (if you are using one). It is important to let the mount dry out and settle, which takes about a month. Preservatives and insecticides are often used to keep the animal looking its best. Then, display!