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. |
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Page 14
... example . There may be a dozen or more drawers in a single rank ; and there are some ten ranks of drawers in a row . On this floor there are fifty - seven rows or lines of cabinets ; except where very large specimens are accommodated ...
... example . There may be a dozen or more drawers in a single rank ; and there are some ten ranks of drawers in a row . On this floor there are fifty - seven rows or lines of cabinets ; except where very large specimens are accommodated ...
Page 32
... example , when two closely related species may be distinguished by having subtly different ecology . European ornithologists will know the instance of the exceed- ingly similar marsh ( Parus montanus ) and willow ( Parus palustris ) ...
... example , when two closely related species may be distinguished by having subtly different ecology . European ornithologists will know the instance of the exceed- ingly similar marsh ( Parus montanus ) and willow ( Parus palustris ) ...
Page 33
... example : small , teeming and unnoticed , they fill almost every habitat on Earth . I will choose one example , from a cast of thousands . You have to be a special kind of person to love fungus gnats , but if you look at mushrooms ...
... example : small , teeming and unnoticed , they fill almost every habitat on Earth . I will choose one example , from a cast of thousands . You have to be a special kind of person to love fungus gnats , but if you look at mushrooms ...
Page 38
... example , he named the moa from its skeleton . The moa is an extinct flightless bird that walked around New Zealand until the arrival of mankind almost certainly extinguished the feathered giant ; the scien- tific name was Dinornis ...
... example , he named the moa from its skeleton . The moa is an extinct flightless bird that walked around New Zealand until the arrival of mankind almost certainly extinguished the feathered giant ; the scien- tific name was Dinornis ...
Page 44
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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