The first Duke was a keen collector of geological and natural history specimens. They were housed in a converted conservatory in the lower flower garden:

The [museum] was erected by the Marquis of Buckingham, in the Flower-garden and was for many years used as a conservatory. When the late Duke of Buckingham commenced collecting, he altered its character, and devoted it to the preservation of the minerals and other curiosities obtained in his various tours.

In the year 1827–8–9, the late Duke made a tour of the Mediterranean in his yacht, the “Anna Eliza,” and during his absence collected a large portion of the Geological and Mineral specimens, as well as many of the Greek and Roman antiquities, hitherto forming part of the collection at Stowe. The Geological and Mineral collection also received large additions during a tour, made by his Grace, through the Western Isles of Scotland, in which he was accompanied by Dr Buckland, the present very Reverend Dean of Westminster. [Stowe Sale Catalogue 1848]

The collection was admired by Prince Albert:

Upon the occasion of the Queen visiting Stowe in 1845, her Majesty and her Royal Consort devoted some time to an examination of the contents of the Museum. Her Majesty and his Royal Highness were accompanied on their visit by Dr Buckland (now the very Reverend Dean of Westminster), who was one of the Duke of Buckingham’s guests on that memorable occasion. [Stowe Sale Catalogue 1848]

The most impressive parts of the collection were:

• The mineral collection of Abbé Haüy, founder of crystallography
• The 6000 item Buckingham collection of mineralogy and geology, assembled by the first Duke
• A perfect specimen of Plesiosaurus Dolichodeirus.

Many items were contributed by Captain Nevill, R.N. and Captain Willes Johnson, R.N.

The first Duke spends many hours in his museum studying and cataloguing, but towards no specific purpose as he did not write scientific papers or publish his catalogues.

I pass the day which is wet, in the Museum with Mr Lunn arranging the remainder of Hauy’s Collection. Watkin & Lady Harriet aƒsisting part of the time. [HEH ST 98 Vol 1; 1827/04/18]

I passed the day in the Museum arranging the collection of Shells. Rosa Nugent helped me. [HEH ST 98 Vol 1; 1827/05/04]

Many items were collected when the Duke sailed through the Mediterranean in 1827–29:

Great collections are already making for the Museum at Stowe, and we regularly inspect all the Fishermen’s Nets we meet with, in the hopes of finding something curious. [HEH STG Correspondence Box 10 (16); 1827/08/19. Emma Anne [Pigott] Wilson off Gibraltar to Anna Eliza Brydges at Avington.]

The 1848 Sale Catalogue

The Thirty-Sixth Day’s Sale

Tuesday 3 October

After another short interval, the sale was resumed this morning with the disposal of the Antiques and other Sculpture in the Saloon and Gardens, and the contents of the Museum...

Museum

Upon the occasion of the Queen visiting Stowe in 1845, her Majesty and her Royal Consort devoted some time to an examination of the contents of the Museum. Her Majesty and his Royal Highness were accompanied on their visit by Dr Buckland (now the very Reverend Dean of Westminster), who was one of the Duke of Buckingham’s guests on that memorable occasion.

42. A model of Stonehenge; and a model of the portico of the Temple of Theseus. Purnell B. Purnell, Esq. 3 5 0.

43. A marble bust of the Duke of Gloucester, by Comolli. W. Wakeford Attree, Esq. 1 16 0.

44. A model of the Arhc of Septimus Severus—in cork. Purnell B. Purnell, Esq. 4 14 0.

45. A camera obscura—(withdrawn).

46. Vishnu, a statue in stone—brought from the palace at Poonah. Agent. 3 0 0. A statue of Vishnu the Second, or preserver of the Hindoo Triune Deities. The small figure represents Laeshmi, the Ceres of India, also the preserving power of Nature, and allegorically called the consort of Vishnu. Vishnu is represented with a shell in one hand, and the lotus flower in another; he has fouir hands, probably signifying power and abundance. This very curious statue formerly stood in the inner court of the palace of Peishwa Budgee Rao (the last of the Mahratta princes), at Poonah: it was presented to the present Duke of Buckingham by the late Captain Jervoise, R.N.

47. A cast of a winged female—from Athens. Lord Nugent. 2 8 0. This is a plaster cast of the “Winged Victory stooping to tie her sandal,” from the Temple of the Unwinged Victory, in the Acropolis, at Athens, one of the most beautiful monuments of antiquity. It was presented to the Duke of Buckingham, about three years since, by Lord Nugent, having been obtained by his lordship at Athens, by favour of the French Ambassador there: only two or three casts were taken, by order of Louis Philippe.

48. An ancient figure in stone—from an old house in Buckingham. Agent. 2 2 0. This small bearded figure of a man holding a book, was taken out of the walls of a very ancient house, at Buckingham, formerly the residence of the Rev. William Andrewes. The house was pulled down some years ago, and the site is now (1848) a garden.

49. A collection of Chinese weapons and implements. Walter. 3 5 0. Some of the weapons are extremely curious. They were presented to the Duke by Captain Willes Johnson, R.N., and some were collected in China by Captain Nevill. One of them is a Chinese plough, an implement of very primitive construction.

50. A model map of Switzerland; one of St Gothard; and the Simplon. Walter. 4 0 0. The above models were purchased by Mr Walter for the Dean of Westminster.

51. A microscope; 4 cases of specimens; and a japan box of ditto. Zimmerman. 7 10 0.

52. A microscope, by Amici, of Modena. Lady Glamis. 7 2 6. This is a beautiful instrument, made expressly for the late Duke, by the celebrated optician Amici, at Modena.

52*. A bird’s nest, in a block of elm; a hornet’s next, from Wotton; and a petrifaction. Hennell. 2 0 0. The bird’s nest, and accompanying block of wood, was presented to the Duke of Buckingham by Oliver Lang, Esq., master-shipwright of Woolwich dockyard, in which establishment this natural curiosity was discovered.

53. A microscope, by Jones—in mahogany case. Walesby. 8 8 0.

54. One, by Carpenter, with drawers containing specimens. Walesby. 11 11 0. The microscope specimens in this lot, as well as Lot 51, were chiefly prepared by the late Duke of Buckingham.

55. An orrery, by Adams. Walter. 5 5 0. This microscope was bought for Dr Buckland.

56. A small orrery, and a terrestrial globe, with mechanical apparatus; and—

57. A glazed case—on a table. Walesby. 2 0 0. These two lots were sold together.

Natural History

58. A collection of oriental and other birds—in six glazed cases—(6). Walesby. 63 0 0.

59. An argus pheasant, eagle, hawks, gulls, &c.—(3). Agent. 7 7 0. The argus pheasant—a magnificent specimen of this rare and beautiful bird. It was a present from Captain Willes Johnson.

60. Humming birds—(2). J.T. Pinckard, Esq. 9 9 0.

61. King of the vultures, rattle-snake, ptarmigan, grouse, cock of the woods, &c.—(3). J.T.Pinckard, Esq. 9 9 0.

62. Waterfowl, shiel duck and drake, and owls—(3). H. Roundell, Esq. 8 8 0.

63. Scarlet ibis, spoonbill, flamingo, white moorhen, &c.—(1). C. Woodward, Esq., Bicester. 6 6 0. A beautiful specimen of the scarlet ibis, rose-coloured spoonbill, &c. The white moorhen—a great rarity—was shot by Captain Henry S. Lowndes, and presented by him to the Duke of Buckingham.

64. Albatriss, and black ducks, and 2 small cases above, pheasants, &c.—(4). Sir George Warrender, Bart. 22 1 0.

65. A crocodile, and tiger-cat. Agent. 4 14 6. This crocodile is eight feet ten inches long; it is preserved in the act of seizing a tiger-cat, which it seems to hold with the greatest of ease in its widely extended jaws.

66. A boa-constrictor, an otter, and a musk-deer—(3). Agent. 7 7 0. A magnificent specimen of the great boa constrictor, the largest ever seen in this country. It measures thirty-two feet in length, and two feet six inches in circumference, and is preserved in the act of destroying a deer which is crushed, and expiring in its enormous folds. These beautiful animals, the least of all the deer tribe, were brought to Stowe in the summer of 1823, but died in October following. This was the only instance of their having produced young in this country.

67. Lizard and cameleon tribe—(2). Agent. 5 5 0. The specimens contained in the last three lots, with the exception of the musk-deer, were formerly at Bullock’s Museum, in Piccadilly. Bullock’s Museum was a very popular exhibition, formerly held at the Egyptian Hall. It was sold by auction about thirty years ago, and many of the best specimens in the Museum of Natural History at Stowe were bought at the sale. Mr Bullock was author of some Travels in Mexico, and was a man of great enterprise and adventure.

68. A wolf, wild cat, &c.—(2). A Robarts, Esq. 9 19 6. This wolf—a very large and fine specimen—was presented by Mr Leonard Lloyd, the author of “Northern Sports,” by whom it was shot, near his home at Gottenburg, in Sweden. The cat, a very large and remarkable animal, was killed on the mountains of Scotland: it is preserved in the act of preying on a hare.

69. Fishes, lizards, a seal, armadillo, &c.—(5). |Agent. 7 17 6. A case of very remarkable and rare specimen’s from Bullock’s Museum.

70. A collection of British birds; and 2 small cases. P Box, Esq. 16 16 0. These birds were chiefly collected by the present Duke of Buckingham; there were beautifully stuffed and arranged by Mr Goodwin, of the Privy Seal Office.

71. An elephant’s skull and tusk, and shark’s jaws; and a tortoiseshell. Purnell B. Purnell, Esq. 2 0 0. A large specimen of an elephant’s skull; presented by Captain Nevill, R.N.

72. Five pairs of horns—very fine specimens. Ryman. 8 5 0.

73. A collection of South Sea clubs and weapons—elaborately carved; and 1 of jade. Walter. 10 10 0. Many of these extraordinary weapons were presented to the late Duke of Buckingham by John M’Leod, Esq., of Demerara.

74. An extensive collection of shells and corals, including some rare specimens collected by Lord Mountnorris in the Red Sea—in a mahogany cabinet. Davis. 14 3 6. The greater part of this collection of shells was given to the late Duke of Buckingham by Captain Nevill, R.N.

75. Four small mahogany cabinets, containing a collection of fossil shells. Hennell. 12 12 0. These are chiefly very minute specimens. The collection was made by some German connoisseur.

76. A mahogany glazed case, with a collection of insects and butterflies. Hennell. 8 18 6.

77. A collection of Chinese curiosities. Rev. H Roundell. 5 10 0. These curiosities were principally bought from China by Captain Nevill, R.N.

78. The entire very celebrated collection of mineralogy and geology, formed by the Abbé Haüy,[1] comprising nearly ten thousand specimens, each carefully labelled and described in his own hand, together with his very numerous models of crystals, elaborately cut in wood, to explain his particular system of Crystallography;—an extensive hortus siccus, in boxes, also formed and described by the Abbé;—and to these collections have been added a beautiful series of the different varieties of amber. The whole forming a valuable and interesting illustration of the “Traité de Mineralogie,” published by the Abbey in 1822. The portrait of Abbé Haüy will be included in this lot, as well as the glazed cases in which the specimens are now so well arranged and displayed. The Directors of the “Jardin des Plantes”. 325 10 0. This extensive collection possesses considerable interest, from the fact of its containing the identical specimens upon which the Abbé Haüy founded his ingenious system of Mineralogy. Many of the specimens, however, from lapse of time, have become decomposed, and the value of the series is in consequence undiminished. The late Duke of Buckingham purchased the collection of the executors for Haüy for £4000. This was one of the many instances we might quote of the profuse expenditure on the part of the part of his Grace, the real worth of the minerals probably never having exceeded one quarter of the amount quoted. The collection being essentially French, it was natural that the scientific authorities of that nation should desire to repossess it; and when the fact of M Dufrénoy’s presence this morning, in company with the Dean of Westminster, became known, a shrewd guess as to its future destination was formed by many parties present. The disposal of the lot, contrary to general expectation, excited very little competition, M Dufrénoy being opposed for its possession by one gentleman only—Mr Hennell of Southampton Street. The latter made the first bidding of 100 guinea: from this amount, the price gradually increased to 320 guineas, at which sum it was knocked down to M Dufrénoy, who purchased it for the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris. The collection of amber included in this lot was presented to the Duke of Buckingham by Captain Nevill, R.N.

79. The Buckingham collection of mineralogy and geology, containing more than six thousand specimens, some of them of considerable rarity and beauty, systematically classed and catalogues, according to their names and localities. Tennant, of the Strand. 68 5 0. This collection contains some very beautiful specimens, and among them the series of specimens collected by Mr Cunningham, who, it will be recollected, was the able coadjutor of Sir Phillip’s “Mineralogy:” it is probably one of the most complete private collections in the country, and, judging from the rarity and beauty of some of the specimens, must have cost a very large sum in collecting. One water-worn pebble from the Brazils, included in the collection, weighs 9 ounces 14 dwts, and contains 6 ounces of gold: the value of this specimen may be very moderately estimated at £26. The fossil shells are arranged according to the system of Brogniart: the catalogue contains 3050 specimens. The lot excited very little competition and was ultimately bought by Mr Tennant, of the Strand, for a very inadequate price of £68. It has been erroneously stated that the collection was purchased for the Museum of King’s College.

80. A very perfect specimen of Plesiosaurus Dolichodeirus, or long-necked Sea-Lizard—found on the coast of Dorsetshire, and one of the largest hitherto discovered. The Trustees of the British Museum. 8 8 0. This beautiful specimen was found in the blue lias at Lyme, on the coast of Dorsetshire: it was purchased by the late Duke for one hundred guineas. A plaster cast of the specimen was made by Sir Frances Chantrey, with permission of the Duke of Buckingham, for the Geological Society, who have inserted a lithographic representation of it, in one of the volumes of their “Transactions.” The discovery of this curious petrifaction was one of the results of the celebrated Miss Anning’s explorations. It was the first perfect specimen of this species of a genus established by the Rev. W.D. Conybeare: other species have subsequently been discovered, some of which are now in the British Museum.

80*. A small ditto. Tennant. 2 12 6. This was a small specimen of the Ichthyosaurus, distinguished from the Plesiosaurus by the shortness of its neck, and other peculiarities of formation.

81. A collection of minerals, corals, sulphurs, &c., comprising some large and very beautiful specimens, and contained in a glazed case on a crescent-shaped marble table. Walesby. 17 17 0.

Museum Gardens

105. A stone vase—spirally fluted. S. Thornley, Jun., Esq., Springfield House, Birmingham. 3 5 0.

106. An altar, with Greek inscription to the memory of Paris. W. Green, Esq. 2 12 6. This very interesting relic of antiquity, in Parian marble, is supposed to be a funeral monument to the memory of Paris, son of Priam. It was purchased by the late Duke of Buckingham, somewhere on the shores of the Mediterranean, but its modern history is now unknown. The inscription (which is in some parts obliterated) is in very early Greek: the part remaining was thus rendered by the late Mr Granville Penn:—“And I defended my country as a son (or, my paternal stem as a branch) with the people-slaughtering sword; and I slew Achilles, providently secured against old age: and I restrained the united nations of the Greeks, to the tenth year: And as to myself, no one in truth, hath power against me!”

[No Lot 107]

108. A set of four tripod stands, of artificial stone. Ryman. 27 6 0.

109. A pair of stone vases. A. Robertson. Esq. 6 16 6.

110. A pair of lead vases. Earl of Lonsdale. 35 14 0.

111. Six vases of Maltese stone. Mark Philips, Esq. 6 16 6.

112. Nine ditto. W. Woodgate, Esq. 9 5 0.

113. A marble bath. French. 4 10 0.

114. Three vases of artificial stone; and a tripod. S. Thornley, Jun., Esq. 10 10 0.

115. A Roman marble sarcophagus, inscribed “D. M. G. MESSIS qui vixit annis XVII. Mesis III.” Earl of Lonsdale. 8 0 0. A Roman sarcophagus, found by the late Duke of Buckingham, in an excavation made by him in Rome, in 1828, near the tomb of Ceclilia Metalla. It then contained the skeleton of the Roman youth whose name it bears—the bones of which were carefully replaced in the earth. It recently stood in the flower-garden at Stowe, and in it were deposited the remains of the late Duke’s favourite dogs, who died of extreme old age in 1837. This trifling circumstance is mentioned, because to all the Duke’s numerous visitors and friends, this little dog, Harlequin, was well known as a most sagacious and intelligent little animal; and his attachment to his master was extraordinary. He was a native of Bologna, of a very rare family called the red-nosed pugs. He was small in stature, but of the utmost symmetry of form. His latter years were embittered by the effects of a quarrel with a large poodle, arising from jealousy, and in this encounter, he lost one of his eyes by a bite from his furious rival. When the Duke met with him at Bologna, he was chief actor in a travelling showman’s company; but he could seldom be prevailed upon to display his talents in dancing, after he was purchased from his former master, and promoted to a higher grade of society.

[Many other antiquarian lots were sold from the house and gardens.]

Notes

[1] René-Just Haüy (1743–1822) created the science of crystallography. Kunz, George F. 1918. “The Life and Work of Haüy”, American Mineralogist, 3, 60-89.