Furniture, Works of Art and Clocks - 3rd April 2019
Lot 399
λ A collection of minerals
Estimate £400 - £600 | Hammer £380
+ Buyers Premium
Description
λ A collection of minerals, comprising: ninety numbered specimens with hand-written paper labels, some attached with printed trade labels, inscribed 'Sold by G. B. SOWERBY 156 Regent Street', contained in a mahogany case, with an ivory escutcheon and with three trays, each containing thirty smaller card trays, first half of 19th century and later, 16.8cm high, 34.5cm wide, 29.3cm deep.
George Bretting Sowerby (1788-1854) was a naturalist, illustrator and conchologist and was the second son of James Sowerby. He catalogued the Earl of Tankerville's collection of shells and dealt in shells and natural history objects initally in King Street, Covent Garden, then moved to Regent Street and finally to Great Russell Street.