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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 41(4), 1987, 240
A History of the Hope Entomological Collections in the University Museum Oxford with Lists of Archives and Collections. Audrey Z. Smith. 1986. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 172 pp.
This short but informative book is divided into two parts. The first seven chapters tell the story of Rev. Frederick William Hope, his collections, and his quest to insure that they would be preserved, protected, and studied. The second and more significant part of the book contains five appendices. These list many of the holdings of the Hope Collections' archives as well as names of individual donors and the collections they gave. Included in other appendices are a transcript of Rev. Hope's Deed of Gift and an Oxford committee's reaction to the Deed.
The author of this book is the Hope Librarian. Her attempt in the first third of the book to tell the history of Hope and his collections works fairly well. The text follows a logical sequence discussing Rev. Hope, curators of his collections, the collections themselves, the Hope Professors, and a list of scholars associated with the Collections. Unfortunately, little detail is provided in the chapter examining Rev. Hope's life. As a wealthy gentleman-collector of the 19th century, his story may not differ from some others, but one cannot help wondering what his particular areas of interest were, and whether he made any lasting contributions to science through his activities.
The other chapters also might have benefitted from additional detail, but they are sufficient to give the reader an idea of the importance of the Hope Collections. The chapter on the library of the Collections probably belongs in an appendix where other information regarding specific holdings has been placed.
The major contribution of this book may be found in its first two appendices. For researchers interested in studying particular entomologists, Appendix A will be invaluable. Consisting of an alphabetical list of archival holdings, the list is not complete, but one glance at it indicates the vast quantity and quality of material in the Archives. Following each name in the appendix is a brief description of the material held. Holdings include correspondence, diaries, field notes, plates, paintings, and other media of entomologists from the late 18th to the late 20th centuries. Appendix B is an alphabetical list of donors with a description of the donation. It should be particularly valuable when used with Appendix A. Lepidopterists are common in both appendices.
Lepidopterists will find A History of the Hope Entomological Collections to be a useful tool for research. Many archival repositories and museums contain priceless materials that go unused because researchers are unaware of their existence. A publication such as this does researchers a true service by informing them of the holdings of a major facility. This is not a book that lepidopterists should be anxious to acquire for their personal libraries. It is, however, a generally well crafted work that all science libraries should own.
Timothy D. Cary, Library, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794-3323.