Dry Storeroom No. 1, Issue 1A remarkable behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary people, meticulous research, and driving passions that make London’s Natural History Museum one of the world’s greatest institutions. In an elegant and illuminating narrative, Richard Fortey takes his readers to a place where only a few privileged scientists, curators, and research specialists have been—the hallowed halls that hold the permanent collection of the Natural History Museum. Replete with fossils, jewels, rare plants, and exotic species, Fortey’s walk through offers an intimate view of many of the premiere scientific accomplishments of the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. Like looking into the mind of mankind and all the fascinating discoveries, ideas, and accomplishments that reside there, Fortey’s tour is utterly entertaining from first to last. |
From inside the book
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Page 5
... century . Elsewhere in the Natural History Museum , a steel frame is concealed beneath a covering of terracotta tiles that completely smother the surface of the outside and most of the inside of the building ; these paint the dominant ...
... century . Elsewhere in the Natural History Museum , a steel frame is concealed beneath a covering of terracotta tiles that completely smother the surface of the outside and most of the inside of the building ; these paint the dominant ...
Page 7
... century ago , and that still command attention in the main hall , are now sometimes considered a little too tame . There is , to my mind , still something eloquent about the Diplodocus specimen : not merely its size , but that it is the ...
... century ago , and that still command attention in the main hall , are now sometimes considered a little too tame . There is , to my mind , still something eloquent about the Diplodocus specimen : not merely its size , but that it is the ...
Page 10
... century ; on summer after- noons an actress may play the part of Miss Anning on the gallery , much to the bemusement of Japanese visitors who think she must be selling something . At the end of the gallery stands the skeleton of a giant ...
... century ; on summer after- noons an actress may play the part of Miss Anning on the gallery , much to the bemusement of Japanese visitors who think she must be selling something . At the end of the gallery stands the skeleton of a giant ...
Page 25
... century before , 24 May 1867. These herbarium sheets were clearly as permanent as the other collections I had seen , for all that the " fairest flower [ is ] no sooner blown but blasted " as Milton said . Death could evidently be ...
... century before , 24 May 1867. These herbarium sheets were clearly as permanent as the other collections I had seen , for all that the " fairest flower [ is ] no sooner blown but blasted " as Milton said . Death could evidently be ...
Page 27
... I took down one of the volumes at random : Acta Universitatis Lun- densis the scholarly publications of the University of Lund in Sweden . Well over a century of labours by Scandinavian scientists were Behind the Galleries 27.
... I took down one of the volumes at random : Acta Universitatis Lun- densis the scholarly publications of the University of Lund in Sweden . Well over a century of labours by Scandinavian scientists were Behind the Galleries 27.
Contents
3 | |
31 | |
Old Worlds | 73 |
Animalia | 114 |
Theatre of Plants | 154 |
Multum in parvo | 185 |
Museum Rocks | 220 |
Noahs Ark in Kensington | 257 |
House of the Muses | 292 |
Acknowledgements | 315 |
Further Reading | 317 |
Illustration Credits | 319 |
Index | 325 |
Other editions - View all
Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum Richard Fortey Limited preview - 2009 |
Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum Richard Fortey No preview available - 2009 |
Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum Richard A. Fortey No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
ammonites animals Archaeopteryx Baryonyx beetles biodiversity bird bones botanical butterflies cabinets carbonatite catalogue century cichlid cladistic colleagues collections colour curator Darwin Department described diamond diatoms dinosaurs Diplodocus Director discovered discovery door drawers early Earth entomologist Erbenochile evidence evolution evolutionary example expert famous fish floor flowers fossil fungi galleries genes genus geological Gormenghast habitat herbarium human important included insects Keeper kind known label laboratory lichens Linnaean Linnaeus living London look maggots mammal meteorites microscope million mineral Mineralogy molecular Natural History Museum nematodes organisms original Owen Palaeontology parasite Peter Peter Purves Peter Whitehead Photo courtesy PhyloCode Piltdown plants preserved published Richard Owen rocks sample scientific name scientists sequences snail species staff story survive systematic taxonomists taxonomy thing tiny tion tree trilobite truffle Trustees type specimens visitors W. N. P. Barbellion whale winkles Zoology