Tenby Museum and Art Gallery are pleased to announce the first exhibition of some of the rare books from the museum reference library. The books are displayed in the Wilfred Harrison Art Gallery and will be on show until the end of October, 2001.
The subjects covered on this occasion are Natural History (flora and fauna) and Tenby Guide Books. Visitors will see some fine examples of hand tinted colour plates and etchings. The earliest guide book in the museum's collection, published in 1810, is on display. Each month illustration pages will be changed for conservation purposes.
When Tenby Museum and Art Gallery was established in 1878 many of its founders were interested in subjects such as Natural History, Archaeology, Geology, Local History and Antiquities.
Visitors to the area included naturalists such as Henry Gosse, Thomas Huxley, J. W. Salter of the Geological Survey, Edward Donovan, of the Linnaean Society. Charles Darwin, who published his 'Origin of Species' in 1856, married Emma Allen, of Cresselly (a descendant of the Wedgwood family) and so has a local connection. Victorian visitors collected shells, butterflies, ferns, plants sea-creatures and seaweeds, in fact all kinds of flora and fauna. A discussion of the latest finds was a pleasurable distraction after dinner.
The museum library contained books on these subjects at a time when new discoveries in science and the natural world were constantly being made. The need for correct identification and illustration was a necessity. New scientific papers were frequently published and it was imperative to keep up to date with the latest information as it became available.
One of the founders of the museum, Dr. F. D. Dyster, bequeathed his own library of scientific books to the museum and others followed his example.
The museum collects published material that relates directly to the collections it holds, as well as works by, or about local people or the area. Many generous people and authors still donate books to the museum library. Small quantities of books are purchased to aid the conservation and cataloguing of the collections and as a resource for exhibitions.
A wide variety of people use the library for research, including schools, students, local organisations, academics, historians, authors and individuals.
Future library exhibitions will include subjects such as science, archaeology and geology.
Access to the reference library resource is available by prior appointment.
For further information please contact the museum on (01834) 842809, e-mail [email protected]">[email protected] or http://www.tenbymuseum.free-online.co.uk">www.tenbymuseum.free-online.co.uk
S. B.