#DigitisedCollections
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Hello @bsky.app we have joined the family! 👋
Watch this space....

In the meantime, how about we continue the blue theme with photographs of British Algae: cyanotype impressions by Anna Atkins (1799 - 1871). View all of them via our #DigitisedCollections

nhm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/co...
The white photographic 'impression' of five seaweed specimens on a blue background.
November 13, 2024 at 2:57 PM
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Eggs? Oh, we have eggs. Enjoy your Easter Sunday! #NaturalHistoryMuseum #Easter #EasterEggs #Oology #DigitisedCollections #Artwork #Birds #BritishBirds #HenrikGrönvold #SpecialCollections

Image 1: A reel showing 7 images of postcards depicting the speckled eggs of British birds.
April 20, 2025 at 10:49 AM
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Make no bones about it, we love sharing our collections! For a sneaky peek at the recently digitised 'Memoirs of Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, extinct monsters of the ancient earth' by Thomas Hawkins, follow the link to Digitised Special Collections in our bio ⬆️ #DigitisedCollections #FossilFriday
February 20, 2026 at 10:15 AM
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George B. Sowerby (1812-1884) produced these beautiful watercolour drawings of fossil remains from the Cheltenham area about 1840.

View all 148 watercolours via our #DigitisedCollections https://buff.ly/4aPzanv
#FossilFriday

#Palaeontology #SpecialCollections #Fossils
A watercolour drawing of a nautilus fossil. It is cream in colour. A watercolour drawing of an ammonite, it is brown in colour. A watercolour drawing of an ammonite, it is grey and cream in colour.
January 31, 2025 at 11:15 AM
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Spotted Forktail (Enicurus maculatus).

A watercolour from an album of Himalayan birds drawn by Lady Mary Bentinck (d.1843) painted during her husband's role as Governor General of India.

See the collection via #DigitisedCollections bit.ly/4fLSFOu
#WhoseTailIsItAnyway #SpecialCollections
An original watercolour of a black and white bird standing on a rock.
January 12, 2025 at 12:36 PM
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The Museum holds a copy bound in three parts, along with several hundred of her botanical specimens held within the scientific collections.

🔎 We have digitised our copy to share this remarkable legacy. See the link in our bio to explore our #DigitisedCollections.

#SpecialCollections
March 16, 2025 at 12:15 PM
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We've digitised 155 African sketches of Thomas Baines (1820-1875). ⬆️ Use the link in our bio to explore this collection and many others. #NaturalHistoryMuseum #LibrariesOfInstagram #DigitisedCollections #SpecialCollections #Art #NatureInArt #Africa
Alt text: Watercolours of Southeast Africa.
August 25, 2025 at 9:01 AM
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Phyllopteryx taeniolatus (Common seadragon).

Original watercolour by Ferdinand Bauer (1760-1826) from a collection depicting animals collected when he accompanied Matthew Flinders on a voyage to Australia.

See the complete collection via our #DigitisedCollections bit.ly/3OSmOkj
#WTIIA
Original watercolour drawing of two weedy seadragons, with a blank background. They are shades of orange, pink and yellow.
January 6, 2025 at 12:33 PM
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🎉Elizabeth N. Gwatkin (1845-1941)
🎉Gertrude Metz (1746-1793)
🎉Margaret Bushby Lascelles Cockburn (1829-1928)
🎉Mary Bentinck (d.1843)
🎉Sarah Bowdich Lee (1791-1856)
🎉Sarah Stone (1760-1844)

⬆️Go to the link in our bio and immerse yourself in our #DigitisedCollections.

#InternationalWomensDay2025
Illustration of a bushy plant with white flowers. Illustration of a seahorse.
March 8, 2025 at 12:02 PM
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What happens when Valentine's Day and #FossilFriday collide?

Hippopodium ponderosum (plate 61) by George B. Sowerby (1812-1884).
We ❤️ fossils. #LoveIsAllAround

View his full collection of 148 watercolours via our #DigitisedCollections https://buff.ly/4hzvfgF
#ValentinesDay #Conchology #Valentines
An original watercolour illustrating three fossils in a line. The left and right fossils are heart shaped. All three are brown in colour. Handwritten below the images are the words 'Hippopodium ponderosum Min. Con. t.250'.
February 14, 2025 at 11:34 AM
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It is much harder than you think to draw these often-complex objects, why not have a go!

Anna's 239 original drawings, made under her maiden name of Anna Children, are now preserved in our #SpecialCollections.

We have added them to our #DigitisedCollections, see the link in our bio.
Three black and white drawings of shells.
March 16, 2025 at 4:23 PM
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Very little is known of Lady Mary Acheson (1787?-1843), later Lady Bentinck, but her excellent taste in art has left us with 61 finely executed watercolours of Himalayan birds.

#NaturalHistoryMuseum #SpecialCollections #SciArt #NatureInArt #ZoologicalArt #Himalayas #BookSky #DigitisedCollections
An early-19th century portrait in ink of a young woman in a fur-trimmed dress. A watercolour side view of a multicoloured bird. The bird is facing to the right of the image. Four watercolour side views of colourful birds.
July 25, 2025 at 2:44 PM
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A Convolvulus hawk-moth caterpillar by John C Dollman (1851-1934).

Part of 540 original watercolours of British moths and butterflies.

Explore his work via our #DigitisedCollections bit.ly/3VCQUfs #WhoseTailIsItAnyway #WTIIA #SpecialCollections
An original watercolour drawing of a green caterpillar on a narrow branch. The caterpillar has diagonal black lines and black spots at regular intervals along its body. Behind the caterpillar is a pink flower and some green leaves.
January 3, 2025 at 12:05 PM
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⬆️ Use the link in our bio to the 'Digitised Collections' to view this collection and many others.

#NaturalHistoryMuseum #DigitisedCollections #SpecialCollections
Two pages from a manuscript with multiple colourful watercolours of flowers and plants on each of them. Both pages include a person's signature.
July 30, 2026 at 11:34 AM
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Blue jay.

Born in England, artist John Abbot (1751-1840) spent the majority of his life in America. This jay is one of 116 watercolours in an album titled Birds of Georgia, dated 1827.

View the collection via #DigitisedCollections buff.ly/4aBFezx
#WhoseTailIsItAnyway #SpecialCollections
An original watercolour depicting a long tailed bird perched on a low branch. The bird is facing away and looking to the left. It is mainly different shades of blue, with a white and cream tummy, and white cheek. The tail feathers have black horizontal lines along it at regular intervals.
January 30, 2025 at 12:36 PM
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Lionfish (Pterois miles) Drawn by John Whitchurch Bennett (1790-1853) from live specimens and published in 'Fishes found on the Coast of Ceylon' (1830).

See his collection via our #DigitisedCollections https://bit.ly/4gZg4Np

#WhoseTailIsItAnyway #SpecialCollections
An original watercolour depicting an elaborate fish. It has thirteen spines along the top and in addition to the three small fins shown, a large and elaborate fin on the side. The fish is varying shades of orange with different sized black spots throughout.
January 14, 2025 at 12:32 PM
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Red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura)

Original watercolour by Henry Richter (1772-1857) from a collection of drawings by him and John Gould (1804-1881) of Australian mammals.

See the collection via our #DigitisedCollections bit.ly/3PpQdSW

#WhoseTailIsItAnyway
An original watercolour depicting two small light grey long tailed mammals. One is shown on the ground and the other perched on a plant root just just above. Their tails are slim, light brown at the base, black and hairy from half way along. The background shown is minimal showing rocky ground and a brown root and grasses.
January 16, 2025 at 12:28 PM
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Whilst Edward Wilson (1872-1912) is primarily known as a polar explorer, taking part in the Discovery and Terra Nova expeditions with Captain Scott, he was also an accomplished natural history artist.

#DigitisedCollections #OpenAccess #NaturalHistoryMuseum #SciArt #NatureInArt #ZoologicalArt
Original watercolour depicting two stoats. One is on it hind legs looking directly at the viewer and the other is on all fours looking to the right. They are both light brown on the top and cream / white on the underneath. They are shown on rocky ground, with occasional little bits of greenery. Original watercolour drawing of a bat flying in a cave. The bat is viewed from underneath. It has a light buff coloured tummy and medium brown on the rest of its body.
January 9, 2026 at 12:34 PM
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Just released! More original artwork added to our #DigitisedCollections.

Watercolour drawings of Indian plants commissioned by John Fleming (1747-1829).
buff.ly/4101WgG

View the first 350 illustrations in this collection of 1,162, with more to follow once digitised.
#SpecialCollections #SciArt
Original colour watercolour drawing of a plant called 'Nymphaea rubra Roxb. ex Andrews'. It is drawn to a scientific level, showing the flowers, leaves, roots and seeds. Photograph of a member of staff operating a large piece of equipment which photographs flat items, from above. There is a piece of original mounted artwork lying on the worktop, with it's mount open to show the item in it's entirety. The member of staff stands on the left, looking down at the art and holds a switch in his hand. In the background two bright circular lights face towards the camera.
February 17, 2025 at 1:10 PM
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No Owen, this is not your personal sun bed! This is our book cradle for photographing Special collections and Archives - our digitiser is wearing his 'unimpressed' face!

#ElfOnTheShelf #DigitisedCollections #SpecialCollections #Archives #MuseumArchives #Preservation #NaturalHistoryMuseum
An open book lies on a cradle structure, lined with black velvet. There is a material strap across one side of the book to hold it in place. Next to the book is a red and white toy elf, with sunglasses on. The elf is held in place by the same strap, giving the impression it is sunning itself. Above is a camera and to the left is a bright rectangular light source.
December 13, 2024 at 9:12 AM
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The #WickedMovie release is creating a green celebration, so we thought let's channel Elphaba and showcase some green in our #DigitisedCollections!

💚 Below, drawings of greasy green brittlegill by Julius Schäffer (1882-1944) and a Southern pygmy leatherjacket by Ferdinand Bauer (1760-1826).
Scientific drawings of Russula heterophylla (greasy green brittlegill), which are a brilliant green. The drawing on the left is an illustration of the mushroom, and the drawing on the left is a cross-section. The drawings are annotated. An illustration of the Southern pygmy leatherjacket (Brachaluteres jacksonianus). It shows the fish from the side, with the fish facing the left edge of the page. The fish is a bright green with dark stripes on its top with yellow-tinted fins.
December 2, 2024 at 2:00 PM
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When the NHM opened in 1881, visitors with cameras had to buy a permit and send two copies of each print to the Museum’s collections. You can scroll through a few highlights from each album by swiping left in this post. See every page here: buff.ly/31893CL
#MuseumArchives #DigitisedCollections
September 26, 2026 at 8:00 AM
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Crammed full of botanical gems and digitised it as well as part of our #DigitisedCollections
nhm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/44...
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February 5, 2025 at 6:47 PM
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“Why not #digitise everything, though? Digitising #HistoricalMaterials takes significant money, resources & institutional support, & the work itself takes time, expertise & lots of equipment.”

#Libraries #Archives #DigitisedCollections #SaveOurLibraries #Historians #Researchers
Why Do Historians Still Have To Go To Archives?
Why do historians go to archives? Hasn’t everything already been digitized?
contingentmagazine.org
January 2, 2025 at 1:26 PM