Specimens of articles in common use. - YCBA Collections Search

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Specimens of articles in common use, between 1840 and 1860?

Title(s):: Specimens of articles in common use.
Published/Created:: Great Britain, between 1840 and 1860?
Physical Description:: 1 box (141 specimens) ; 16 x 25 x 9 cm and 1 volume (14 leaves) ; 11 cm
Holdings:: Rare Books and Manuscripts
LB1519 .S64 Flat A
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund
[Request]
Copyright Status:: Copyright Undetermined
Full Orbis Record:: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/13046287
Classification:: Three-Dimensional Artifacts
Notes:: The box's brass hinges are inscribed "P.M. & Co., patent."
Restricted fragile material. Use requires permission of the Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Box of 141 small specimens, predominantly natural, by an unidentified compiler, mid-19th century. The box is accompanied by a small manuscript booklet, bearing the title and a numbered list of all 141 specimens present (written in neat cursive). The specimens are distributed in three trays stacked inside the box; silk ribbons attached to each tray facilitate their removal. Each tray has a dense network of custom-sized compartments, with dividers covered in dark red paper. Each small compartment bears a printed number (on white paper), keying the specimen to the entry in the accompanying booklet. Most specimens are loosely placed in the compartments; some are in stoppered glass vials.
The collection of specimens was used as a teaching aid, following Pestalozzian principles of education introduced in Britain by Elizabeth and Charles Mayo. Object lessons (or object-teaching) emphasized the importance of observation as a tool for students' understanding of more advanced concepts. In 1830, Elizabeth Mayo first published Lessons on objects, providing guidance for teachers on how to lead classroom exercises focused on individual objects such as the specimens in the present box. Mayo's work would be republished in scores of editions through the 1870s and imitated by others, such as Charles Dexter, whose Animal and vegetable substances used in the arts and manufactures (first published in 1857) provided similar guidance, without reference to Mayo or Pestalozzi. The published lessons by Mayo and Dexter both included advertisements for mahogany "cabinets" such as the box described here, offered by merchants in London (from 1 to 3 pounds, depending on complexity). It is possible that the present box was originally assembled by such a merchant, or compiled by an amateur in imitation of such cabinets. A similar specimen box is also present in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum (B.5:1 to 5-2009).
Subject Terms:: Animal products -- Specimens.
Dyes and dyeing -- Specimens.
Education -- Great Britain.
Minerals -- Specimens.
Natural history -- Study and teaching.
Object-teaching.
Pestalozzi, Johann Heinrich, 1746–1827.
Plants -- Specimens.
Science -- Study and teaching.
Spices -- Specimens.
Textile fabrics -- Specimens.
Women in natural history.
Wood -- Specimens.
Contributors:: Mayo, Elizabeth, 1793–1865.
Export:: XML
IIIF Manifest:: JSON

First tray. Animal: 1. Honey-comb
2. Bee's wax
3. Cochineal
4. Cantharides
5. Whalebone
6. Spermaceti
7. Glue
8. Isinglass
9. Leather
10. Skins
11. Catgut
12. Hair
13. Horn
14. Mother of pearl
15. Bone
16. Tortoishell
17. Ivory
18. Cocoon
19. Silk, raw
20. Silk, velvet
21. Silk, chenille &c.
22. Silk, spun
23. Silk, lace
24. Silk, woven
25. Sponge
26. Coral
27. Wool
28. Wool, Berlin
29. Woolen cloth
30. Felt
Vegetable: 31. Pimento
32. Mace
33. Nutmeg
34. Cloves
35. Cinnamon
36. Ginger
37. Cassia buds
38. Pepper
39. White pepper
40. Long pepper
41. Chillies
42. Cayenne
43. Mustard
44. Carraways
45. Coffee
46. Coffee roasted
47. Coriander
48. Manna Kroupe
49. Tapioca
50. Rice
51. Arrowroot
52. Sago.
Second tray. 53. Linseed
54. Flax
55. Flax, Irish
56. Flax, spun
57. Thread
58. Lace work'd
59. Lace
60. Tapes &c.
61. Linen
62. Hemp
63. Tow
64. String
65. Cord
66. Canvas
67. Flowers
68. Wheat
69. Bran
70. Pollard
71. Flour
72. Bread
73. Sassagna
74. Starch
75. Semolina
76. Vermicelli
77. Wafers
78. Macaroni
79. Iceland moss
80. Cardomons
81. Cocoa-bean
82. Cotton
83. Cotton, Nankeen
84. Cotton, reeled
85. Cotton, velvet
86. Cotton, woven
87. Cotton, tapes &c.
88. Cotton, bindings
89. Cotton, lace
90. Cotton, card &c.
91. Chamomile
92. Tea (orange pekoe)
93. Sassafras
94. Buckwheat
95. Barley
96. Barley, pearl
97. Rye
98. Maize
99. Oats
100. Tares
101. Millet
102. Peas.
Third tray. 103. Gypsum & plaister of Paris
104. Soap, barilla, seaweed
105. Ink powder. Green copperas, gall nut, gum arabic
106. Papers
107. Sealing wax. Shell-lac. Resin & vermillion
108. German tinder
109. Asbestos
110. Coal & coke. Cinder (burnt Bank of England notes)
Dyes: 111. Indigo
112. Alkanet
113. Archill
114. Saffron
115. Logwood
116. Gamboge
117. Madder
118. Alum
119. Caoutchouc
120. Camphor
121. Guaicum
122. Copal
123. Benzoin
124. Tragacanthe
125. Frankincense
126. Myrrh
127. Aloes
128. Mastic
Wood: 129. Rose
130. Holly
131. Royal George
132. Straw
133. Bog oak
134. Satin
135. Ebony
Barks: 136. Cascarilla
137. Soap tree
138. Cork
Roots: 139. Gentian
140. Cerris
141. Hellebare.

Crafting Worldviews: European Instruments of Art and Science from Yale University (Yale University Art Gallery, 2023-02-17 - 2023-06-25) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

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