Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation

Biographical Note

George Shaw was a British naturalist born in 1751. His father, a reverend, administered his early education, and Shaw went on to earn a B.A. and M.A. at Magdalen College, Oxford. Shaw was ordained deacon but left the church to pursue his interests in natural history. Leaving Oxford for a short time to study medicine at Edinburgh, Shaw returned to Oxford, where he became a deputy lecturer in botany, and eventually earned his M.B. and M.D. Shaw was a recipient of specimens from colonized Australia and published his descriptions of many Australian animals in Zoology of New Holland (1794). Shaw wrote a number of other publications, including The Naturalist's Miscellany (1789–1813, 24 vols.), in which the first scientific description of the platypus appeared. Shaw was a founding member of the Linnean Society of London and a fellow of the Royal Society. He held a position in the natural history section of the British Museum from 1791 until his death in 1813.

Frederick Polydore Nodder was a botanical artist, believed to have been active from the 1770s through 1800. Nodder provided colored engravings for George Shaw's The Naturalists' Miscellany (1789–1813), although it is believed Nodder's wife and son, Richard (fl.1793-1820), also contributed illustrations. Nodder contributed to other works, such as Joseph Banks' Florilegium (1900–1905, 1980–1990) and Thomas Martyn's Flora rustica (1792), and was the botanical artist to Queen Charlotte.

Scope and Contents Note

This is a 16-page handwritten pamphlet, "Alphabetical Index to Dr. Shaw's Naturalist Miscellany, to be filled up Annually as the Vols. are completed," by Shaw and Nodder. Entries are made for 23 volumes.

Finding Aid

A finding aid for this collection is available online.

Other Resources

For information about portraits of and biographical citations for the subject, see the Hunt Institute Archives Register of Botanical Biography and Iconography database.

For thumbnails of artwork by Frederick Polydore Nodder, see the Catalogue of the Botanical Art Collection at the Hunt Institute database.