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 15
Richard Fortey. Countless specimens : rows of cabinets and drawers for storing the insect collection . In 2007 , this storage was being replaced and renewed . chattering of children as they swarmed up the steps .
Richard Fortey. Countless specimens : rows of cabinets and drawers for storing the insect collection . In 2007 , this storage was being replaced and renewed . chattering of children as they swarmed up the steps .
Page 21
... insects to which the specimens belonged . I knew that there were further floors above me , and I had a brief vision of swarms of insects beyond number , as in films I had seen of plagues of locusts . Around the perimeter of this huge ...
... insects to which the specimens belonged . I knew that there were further floors above me , and I had a brief vision of swarms of insects beyond number , as in films I had seen of plagues of locusts . Around the perimeter of this huge ...
Page 22
... insects are flies and small beetles , and maybe five times as many of these modest animals could be shunted away inside a single drawer . Many , many more of these insects must have been secreted away on other floors of the department ...
... insects are flies and small beetles , and maybe five times as many of these modest animals could be shunted away inside a single drawer . Many , many more of these insects must have been secreted away on other floors of the department ...
Page 23
... insects poses the greatest problems to the entomologist . There are so many species , particularly in the tropics , that simply cataloguing and naming them all can seem an insurmountable task . There is still a long way to go , despite ...
... insects poses the greatest problems to the entomologist . There are so many species , particularly in the tropics , that simply cataloguing and naming them all can seem an insurmountable task . There is still a long way to go , despite ...
Page 33
... insects are the most obvious 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 ...
... insects are the most obvious 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 ...
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