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Royal College of Surgeons of England

Drawings of North American Indian Crania


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 0114 MS0243

Held at: Royal College of Surgeons of England

Title: Drawings of North American Indian Crania

Date(s): Early 19th century

Level of description: Collection (fonds)

Extent: 10 drawings

Name of creator(s): Lesueur | Charles Alexandre | 1778-1846 | naturalist
Lewis | Frederick Christian | 1779-1856 | engraver and landscape painter
Vitry | B A | early 19th century | artist

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

Charles Alexandre Lesueur was born in 1778, the son of a French naval officer. Aged 23, he sailed from his home at Le Havre, France, on an expedition to Australia and Tasmania. During the next 4 years, Lesueur and the naturalist François Péron collected over 100,000 zoological specimens representing 2,500 new species, and Lesueur made 1,500 drawings. Lesueur met William Maclure in 1815, and was persuaded to join him in Philadelphia where he lived until the end of 1825. Lesueur travelled on Maclure's 'Boatload of Knowledge' to Mount Vernon, Indiana, and then a few miles on to New Harmony. He remained there until 1837, when he returned to France. He was appointed curator of the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle du Havre in 1845, which was created to house his many drawings and paintings. He died in 1846.

Frederick Christian Lewis was born in London, in 1779. He was primarily a printmaker and engraver, and his prints were highly valued by his contemporaries. He became engraver of drawings to Princess Charlotte, Prince Leopold, George IV, William IV, and Queen Victoria. He also made tours in Europe producing various etchings. He died in Enfield, Middlesex, in 1856.

Biographical information regarding B A Vitry was unavailable at the time of compilation.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers relating to North American Indian Crania, early 19th century, comprising a drawing titled 'North American Savage Wabash Nation. Female. Drawn by Charles Alexandre Lesueur'; a drawing titled 'North American Indian Wabash nation. Male. Drawn by Charles Alexandre Lesueur'; a drawing titled 'North American Indian. Paunee tribe. Missouri. Drawn by Charles Alexandre Lesueur'; a drawing titled 'Jack Snake. Cherokee Chief, aged about 23. (side view) Drawn by Charles Alexandre Lesueur'; a drawing titled 'Jack Snake. Cherokee Chief. (front view) Drawn by Charles Alexandre Lesueur'; a drawing titled 'Head of a Carib. Drawn by F C Lewis from the skull in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons'; a drawing titled 'Head of a Carib of the Island of St Vincent. Drawn from the original' (in the museum of St Thomas's Hospital), by FC Lewis; a drawing titled 'Head of a negro, drawn from the original in the museum of St Bartholomew's Hospital by F C Lewis'; a drawing titled 'North American Indian from Columbia River, N. West Coast' by B A Vitry; and a drawing titled 'North American Indian from Columbia River, North West Coast' by B A V[itry].

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

As outlined in Scope and Content.

Conditions governing access:

By written appointment only.

Conditions governing reproduction:

No photocopying permitted.

Finding aids:

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Accruals:

Archival history:

Originally presented to the Medico-Chirurgical Society by Sir William Lawrence.

Immediate source of acquisition:

Presented by Walter George Spencer in 1925.

ALLIED MATERIALS

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Archivist's note: Compiled by Anya Turner.
Source: http://faculty.evansville.edu/ck6/bstud/lesueur.html and http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/16582

Rules or conventions: Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions: Sep 2008


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Amerindians | Ethnic groups
Drawings | Visual materials
Skull | Anatomy | Biology
Anthropology
Illustrations

Personal names
Lesueur | Charles Alexandre | 1778-1846 | naturalist
Lewis | Frederick Christian | 1779-1856 | engraver and landscape painter
Vitry | B A | early 19th century | artist

Corporate names
Hunterian Museum
Royal College of Surgeons of England
St Bartholomew's Hospital | London
St Thomas' Hospital | London

Places
Missouri | USA | North America