Stephen Maturin's Online Natural History Library
From WikiPOBia
By the beginning of the 19th Century, many land and sea expeditions had been completed, both to establish trade routes and for scientific pursuits, and published accounts were abundant. As a well-educated physician possessing several languages, Stephen Maturin would no doubt have had access to a wide variety of publications available at the time. The Hancock Natural History Collection at the University of Southern California has 460 books titles which were published from before 1800, and another 1,516 monograph titles which were published from 1800 to 1849.
From Patrick O'Brian's chronicles of Stephen's life (and a nod to Anthony Gary Brown's The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book), it is certain that, in addition to procedings from the Royal Society and the French Académie des sciences, he was familiar with a variety of international ornithologists, botanists, entomologists, anatomists, geologists, and naturalists. Stephen's bookseller was [1]Mr Bentley of Richard Bentley and Son, and the Publishing House of Bentley, based in London.
Authors and titles
Michel Adanson, a contemporary of Stephen's
—Histoire naturelle du Senegal (1757); Familles naturelles des plantes (1763);A voyage to Senegal, the isle of Goreé, and the river Gambia (1759)
Joseph Banks, an acquaintance of Stephen's in the Royal Society during the time Sir Joseph was president (1778-1820).
—Catalogus bibliothecae historico-naturalis Josephi Banks 1798-1800 and other papers of Sir Joseph's at the State Library of New South Wales ; The Endeavour Journal of Joseph Banks, 1768-1771
Thomas Bewick, more famous for his wood engravings than his ornithology, encountered Jack and Stephen briefly while in Chile.
— History of British Birds (1797-1804)
Louis Antoine de Bougainville, certainly known to Stephen if they were not acquaintances through the French Académie des sciences
— Voyage autour du monde, par le fregate du roi la Boudeuse, et la flute l’Etoile (1771)
Mathurin Jacques Brisson
- ↑ Mr Bentley
