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Seaweed Collecting[edit]
Seaweed collecting is the process of gathering and preserving seaweed for scientific or aesthetic purposes. It became popular as a pastime in the Victorian era and remains a hobby today.
Establish importance of seaweed collections (mention museum holdings and contributions to research and conservation)
Mention gendered aspects (role and prevelance of women collectors)
Collecting[edit]
Seaweed collecting involves gathering and preserving samples of seaweed by drying, pressing and mounting them on paper. Collections often take the form of herbaria, but not are not always created for scientific purposes. Herbaria make use of standard techniques to aid in identifying and classifying plant species[2], whereas many seaweed collections are made primarily for aesthetic enjoyment.[3] Eliza Jordson's seaweed collection from 1848 is an example of the latter, containing specimens arranged on coloured paper and framed by lace.[4] Mention Mary Robinson example?
In his 1881 book, A.B. Hervey recommended the following equipment for collecting and pressing seaweed.[5]
You should have a pair of pliers; a pair of scissors; a stick like a common cedar "pen stalk," with a needle driven into the end of it, or, in lack of that, any stick sharpened carefully; two or three large white dishes, like "wash bowls" botanist's "drying paper;" or common blotting paper; pieces of cotton cloth, old cotton is the best; and the necessary cards or paper for mounting the plants on.
— Alpheus Baker Hervey, Sea mosses : a collector's guide and an introduction to the study of marine Algae, Introduction: Mounting and Preserving
Mention contemporary guidelines and/or environmental restrictions on harvesting seaweed?
History[edit]
Collecting seaweed can be traced back to at least the 17th century with the pressings found in Hans Sloane's Herbarium.[6][7]
The pastime became increasingly popular during the Victorian Era (1837-1901), where it played to the burgeoning interest in natural history and collection in general. Albums of seaweed or pressed flowers were common objects in Victorian parlours, alongside other ornamental books of prose and images.[8] It was so in-style that, as a young girl, Queen Victoria created her own seaweed album, and the materials needed for the hobby became readily available at seaside shops.[8][3] This popularity was likely influenced by industrialisation and urbanisation, which inspired feelings of alienation and longing for nature.[8]
Items in the parlour that recalled the natural world, whether potted plants or rose-covered wallpaper helped to restore and rewrite connections with the landscape that were at least threatened, if not severed, by the age of improvement.
— Thad Logan, The Victorian Parlour: a cultural study
It was especially fashionable with young women, as it allowed a greater level of personal freedom.[9] These activities afforded women the opportunity to display their understanding and appreciation of the natural world.[10] mention religious aspects?
The value of seaweed collecting is described in a poem written by David Landsborough at the beggining of his 1857 book A popular history of British seaweeds. In the poem he mentions benefits to be gained including mental health and closeness to God. [11]
Anna Atkins, thought to be the first female photographer, published the first book using photographs as illustrations in 1843. This was Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions and contained pictures of seaweed. citation needed
Edith Ellis' novel Seaweed?
The actions of some of the collectors earned them recognition and admiration from their male, professional counterparts.[12]
These Victorian collections form valuable historical resources[13] for morphological studies and from which genomic DNA can be extracted.[14]
"There is anecdotal evidence that in the nineteenth century algal populations in Devon (southwest England) were permanently damaged through intensive collecting." [6][14]
Notable Collectors[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Durrant, Charles Ferson (1850). Algae and corallines of the bay & harbor of New York. New York : G.P. Putnam. p. 65. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.158141. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022.
- ^ Maden, Kamal (2004). "Plant collection and herbarium techniques". Our Nature. 2 (1): 53–57. doi:10.3126/on.v2i1.327 – via Nepal Journals Online.
- ^ a b Archibald, Sasha (March 9, 2022). "Love and Longing in the Seaweed Album". The Public Domain Review. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ "Libraries and Archives: Sea weeds 1848". Brooklyn Museum. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ Hervey, Alpheus Baker (1881). Sea mosses : a collector's guide and an introduction to the study of marine Algae. Boston: S.E. Cassino. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.52128. Archived from the original on April 25, 2024.
- ^ a b Tittley, Ian (2002). "Marine Algal (Seaweed) Collections at the Natural History Museum, London (BM): Past, Present and Future". Constancea (83). Archived from the original on May 29, 2024.
- ^ "The Sir Hans Sloane Herbarium". Natural History Museum. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ a b c Logan, Thad (2001). The Victorian Parlour: A Cultural Study. Cambridge Studies in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture. Vol. 30. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521631822. Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
- ^ "Mystery surrounds Victorian lady seaweed collector". Whitby Gazette. Johnston Press plc. October 22, 2013. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
- ^ Laura Massey. "Nature Domesticated: A Victorian Seaweed Scrapbook". Peter Harrington, London. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^ Landsborough, David. "A popular history of British seaweeds : comprising their structure, fructification, specific characters, arrangement, and general distribution, with notices of some of the fresh-water algae". Wellcome Collection. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^ Olsen, Penny (2013). Collecting Ladies: Ferdinand Von Mueller and Women Botanical Artists (1 ed.). National Library of Australia. p. 15. ISBN 9780642277534. Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^ Moore, P.G. (2008). "A 150-year-old seaweed collection returns to Cumbrae" (PDF). The Glasgow Naturalist. 25 (1). Glasgow: Glasgow Natural History: 3–8. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^ a b Huxley, Rob; Bryant, Jenny. "How to Prepare Seaweed Specimens" (PDF). The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^ Strange, Philip (August 19, 2014). "The Queen of Seaweeds – the story of Amelia Griffiths, an early 19th century pioneer of marine botany". Philip Strange Science and Nature Writing. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
External links[edit]
- Add links to digital collections