John Stackhouse’s Nereis Britannica (1795-1801)

October’s “Treasure of the Month” is a bit of a diamond in the rough, and like last month’s object has links to the Cornish coast. John Stackhouse’s Nereis Britannica, published in three fascicles between 1795 and 1801, is an illustrated compendium of the species of Fuci, a type of algae, endemic to the British seashore. Stackhouse (1742-1819), a Cornwall native and Fellow of the Linnean Society, corresponded with James Edward Smith in the preparation of his magnum opus, and submitted proofs of his new edition to several Linnean Fellows for comment and review. He expresses regret over perceived inadequacies in the descriptions, and frustration that a promised second edition was not donated to the library. All these letters, plus Stackhouse’s notebooks, survive in our archive.

Time has not been kind to Stackhouse’s masterpiece. Water damage has stained the papers and weakened the binding, and the delicate watercolour plates are now entirely disbound. The presence of an additional, seemingly later copy, has confused the collation. In 2016, Ian Caldwell, a Fellow of the Society and descendant of Stackhouse, marshalled the support of nearly 25 friends and family members to finance the repair and restoration of Stackhouse’s notebook on fungi [MS 459] as part of the AdoptLINN conservation scheme. We will now add the Nereis Britannica to our “adoption” lists, in the hope attracting similar support.