Dear Secretary…Letters to Philip Lutley Sclater

I joined ZSL as the new Archivist in September 2021. One of my main tasks has been to produce a new online catalogue of the collections held in the ZSL Archives. I will be producing a series of blogs on the collections I uncover during this process, and this begins with the letters and papers relating to the position of Secretary at ZSL, and in particular, the letters of Philip Lutley Sclater which forms one of the largest extant collections of letters we hold in the ZSL Archives.

Philip Lutley Sclater (1829-1913) was an ornithologist, zoologist and lawyer. In 1858 he set up six zoological regions which are still in use today. He was the founder and editor of ‘The Ibis’, the journal of the British Ornithologists’ Union, and he had a huge collection of 9000 birds which he deposited with the British Museum (Natural History).

A blog about Philip Lutley Sclater by ZSL’s new Archivist, Natasha Wakely. Topics covered in the letters range from animals being sold by collectors and zoological research, to the management of the Gardens of the Society and elections to the Fellowship.

Read more about the letters of Philip Lutley Sclater

Black and white portrait of Philip Lutley Sclater

Dear Secretary…Letters to Philip Lutley Sclater

I joined ZSL as the new Archivist in September 2021. One of my main tasks has been to produce a new online catalogue of the collections held in the ZSL Archives. I will be producing a series of blogs on the collections I uncover during this process, and this begins with the letters and papers relating to the position of Secretary at ZSL, and in particular, the letters of Philip Lutley Sclater which forms one of the largest extant collections of letters we hold in the ZSL Archives.

Philip Lutley Sclater (1829-1913) was an ornithologist, zoologist and lawyer. In 1858 he set up six zoological regions which are still in use today. He was the founder and editor of ‘The Ibis’, the journal of the British Ornithologists’ Union, and he had a huge collection of 9000 birds which he deposited with the British Museum (Natural History).

A blog about Philip Lutley Sclater by ZSL’s new Archivist, Natasha Wakely. Topics covered in the letters range from animals being sold by collectors and zoological research, to the management of the Gardens of the Society and elections to the Fellowship.

Read more about the letters of Philip Lutley Sclater

Black and white portrait of Philip Lutley Sclater