Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1817-1900 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
18 notebooks and 1 box
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Born, 1801; in the summer of 1820, while still a student, he made a voyage to the Arctic regions in the capacity of surgeon to a whaling ship; qualified LSA, 1823; medical officer for the Stoke upon Trent district; parish medical officer in Shelton; MRCS, 1843; FSA, 1854; graduated MD at St Andrews, 1862; member of the Anthropolical Society, 1863; for many years Davis devoted himself to craniology, and gradually accumulated a huge number of skulls and skeletons of various races, most with carefully annotated histories; joint editor of the Journal of the Anthropological Institute and of Anthropologia; FRS, 1868; died, 1881.
Publications:
Crania Britannica (1865)
Thesaurus Craniorum (1867)
Archival history
GB 1446 MS 140-152 & 436 1817-1900 Collection (fonds) 18 notebooks and 1 box Davis , Joseph Barnard , 1801-1881 , craniologist
Born, 1801; in the summer of 1820, while still a student, he made a voyage to the Arctic regions in the capacity of surgeon to a whaling ship; qualified LSA, 1823; medical officer for the Stoke upon Trent district; parish medical officer in Shelton; MRCS, 1843; FSA, 1854; graduated MD at St Andrews, 1862; member of the Anthropolical Society, 1863; for many years Davis devoted himself to craniology, and gradually accumulated a huge number of skulls and skeletons of various races, most with carefully annotated histories; joint editor of the Journal of the Anthropological Institute and of Anthropologia; FRS, 1868; died, 1881.
Publications:
Crania Britannica (1865)
Thesaurus Craniorum (1867)
Unknown
Notebooks of Joseph Barnard Davis, 1817-1900, including:
MS 140
Five notebooks, containing notes on medicine, archaeology and books read, 1845-1860.
MS 141
Notebook containing notes taken from Dr Armstrong's lectures on the principles and practice of physic, 1823.
MS 142
Notebook containing extracts and memorandum from Lucas' Candid inquiry into the education, qualifications and offices of a surgeon-apothecary, (1800, York), 1817-1819.
MS 143
Notebook containing notes taken from 'Asculapius and the Asclepiadae', a treatise read before the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin 22 May and 19 Jun 1845, by Dr Theodore Panofka, Professor of archaeology to the Royal Frederick William's University, 1846.
MS 144
Notebook containing notes from Pearson's life of Hey, 1822.
MS 145
Notebook containing notes, observations, references chiefly relating to medicine and archaeology, Halifax, c 1821-1868.
MS 146
Notebook containing 'A verbal translation of Blumenbach's Decades craniorum diversarum gentium'.
MS 147
Notae ethnographicae, 1859-1865.
MS 148
Notebook containing description of a collection of signet rings entitled 'Dactyliotheca Aesculapiana'.
MS 149
Notebook containing notes on history of Britain.
MS 150
Notebook entitled 'Crania Britannica' including a guide to crania and subscribers' names.
MS 151
Private cash book entitled 'York affairs', 1837-1875.
MS 152
Notebook containing lists of reprints sent out, 1854-1864.
MS 436
Notebooks, letters and papers mostly dealing with Crania Britannica, 1853-1900; collection of reprints of articles by Davis; a report on Australian Aborigines, 1859 and two wooden printing blocks of decorative patterns.
As outlined in the scope and content.
Appointments are necessary for all visits; please contact the archivist by email to arrange; a fee of £10 is payable by all visitors except Fellows and Members; membership details can be found on the RAI web site; access to material referring to the most recent thirty years is restricted; some material is very fragile and may not be available for view; a few items are of restricted or forbidden access.
Photocopies and scans for personal research only may be arranged at the discretion of the archivist; charges apply; in all cases forms governing use of copies must be signed; use of digital cameras is not allowed.
English
Collection level descriptions available in the reading room. There is no finding aid for MS 436.
Entry compiled by Sarah Drewery.
Sources: 'Report of the Council of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland for 1881'
The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 11, (1882), pp. 482-487 and Oxford DNB.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Sep 2008 Davis , Joseph Barnard , 1801-1881 , craniologist Archaeology Ethnic groups Indigenous populations Musculoskeletal system Bones Biology Anatomy Skull London England UK Western Europe Europe
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Unknown
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Notebooks of Joseph Barnard Davis, 1817-1900, including:
MS 140
Five notebooks, containing notes on medicine, archaeology and books read, 1845-1860.
MS 141
Notebook containing notes taken from Dr Armstrong's lectures on the principles and practice of physic, 1823.
MS 142
Notebook containing extracts and memorandum from Lucas' Candid inquiry into the education, qualifications and offices of a surgeon-apothecary, (1800, York), 1817-1819.
MS 143
Notebook containing notes taken from 'Asculapius and the Asclepiadae', a treatise read before the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin 22 May and 19 Jun 1845, by Dr Theodore Panofka, Professor of archaeology to the Royal Frederick William's University, 1846.
MS 144
Notebook containing notes from Pearson's life of Hey, 1822.
MS 145
Notebook containing notes, observations, references chiefly relating to medicine and archaeology, Halifax, c 1821-1868.
MS 146
Notebook containing 'A verbal translation of Blumenbach's Decades craniorum diversarum gentium'.
MS 147
Notae ethnographicae, 1859-1865.
MS 148
Notebook containing description of a collection of signet rings entitled 'Dactyliotheca Aesculapiana'.
MS 149
Notebook containing notes on history of Britain.
MS 150
Notebook entitled 'Crania Britannica' including a guide to crania and subscribers' names.
MS 151
Private cash book entitled 'York affairs', 1837-1875.
MS 152
Notebook containing lists of reprints sent out, 1854-1864.
MS 436
Notebooks, letters and papers mostly dealing with Crania Britannica, 1853-1900; collection of reprints of articles by Davis; a report on Australian Aborigines, 1859 and two wooden printing blocks of decorative patterns.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
As outlined in the scope and content.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Appointments are necessary for all visits; please contact the archivist by email to arrange; a fee of £10 is payable by all visitors except Fellows and Members; membership details can be found on the RAI web site; access to material referring to the most recent thirty years is restricted; some material is very fragile and may not be available for view; a few items are of restricted or forbidden access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Photocopies and scans for personal research only may be arranged at the discretion of the archivist; charges apply; in all cases forms governing use of copies must be signed; use of digital cameras is not allowed.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Collection level descriptions available in the reading room. There is no finding aid for MS 436.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
Notes area
Note
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English