Post by nomad on Dec 7, 2013 4:24:48 GMT -8
All the remarkable and interesting high resolution black & white images used in this thread were kindly provided by Amy, the granddaughter of Richard Ford and they remain the copyright of Watkins & Doncaster.
When I was very young I was given the small Observer's pocket book of Larger Moths by R.L.E.Ford [ 1952 and many later editions ], which became a well thumbed volume. Ford, I knew that name , but only found out later the author of my little book was not related to E.B. Ford who have produced the Butterfly and Moth volumes in the New Naturalist series that I borrowed from the library. The Observer's moth book focused on the more spectacular larger moths such as the impressive hawk moths and included all the resident and migrant species. My favoutite was the ' Deaths Head Hawk Moth ' [ Acherontia atropos ]. R. L. E Ford included in his book useful collecting tips on how to obtain each species. I learnt that the best way to obtain the equally large migrant ' Convolvurus Hawk Moth ' [ Agrius convolvuli] was to search the eaves of bathing machines along the south coast. I could not wait for my annual holiday to the Dorset coast. Walking along the beach at Weymouth I was at first disappointed to find that that ' bathing machines ' [ changing huts on wheels] no longer existed, still there were plenty of beach huts to search. Search I did, but in vain, the other holidaymakers may have stared in wonder at the small boy walking along the beach with his butterfly net peering up at the low eaves of their wooden huts. I never did collect a Convolvurus Hawk moth , but the book proved to be very useful for obtaining a number of other moths for my growing collection.
As my interest grew, a year later my parents bought me an edition of another R.L.E. Ford book, Practical Entomology [ first published 1963 ], a volume in the Wayside & Woodland series. This became my cherished reference guide and through its pages , I learnt how to better collect, prepare and maintain my collection. Richard Ford was an outstanding field collector of all orders of insects. This book and its later edition Studying insects [ 1973] are still very useful collectors guides today. It was through this book that I found out the Richard Ford owned the Natural History specimen and equipment suppliers ' Watkins and Doncaster ' and around 1967, my Grandfather and Mother took me to his premises, which were then situated in a large Victorian house in Welling in Kent. Here I looked in awe at the many specimens kept in beautiful rows of mahogany cabinets and my kind grandparents bought me a few items of field and study equipment. I believe the person who served us, was Richard's son Robin, who had joined the business. In this ever changing world, it is nice to be able to say that nearly half a century later ' Watkins & Doncaster not only still provide some of the best equipment available, but also a fast , efficient and friendly reliable service.
In 1874, William Watkins became a natural history dealer from a house in Eastbourne, Sussex, which he named the ' Villa Sphinx ', but which others often called the Villa stinks due to the strong smell of mothballs as you entered the building. It says volumes for Mr Watkins that in one of his catalogues, he was able to list 6000 species of lepidoptera from around the World. He even sent a collector to the Solomon Islands, who as the story goes had to be rescued from cannibals soon after he landed on one of the islands. In 1879, Watkins moved his growing business to 36 the Strand in London and his trademark Swallowtail sign, which was hung outside the building became a well known landmark. In the same year Arthur Doncaster became a partner and although he was deaf and dumb, he was able to converse with his customers by writing everything on a slate board that was hung around his neck. Also despite his disability, Doncaster was a world authority on tropical butterflies and was consultant to a number of museums. Later Frederick Mette, a collector and expert of Bird's eggs bought the business and he struggled to run it on his own and when he died at the start of World War two, it run for a year without a owner and then in 1941 Richard Ford became the new owner.
Watkins and Doncaster catalogues from 1874 to 1936.
Attachment Deleted
Collectors in 1919, enjoying a pint of beer after a hard day's collecting.
Richard Lawrence Ford [ 1913-1996] was born at Bexley in Kent, the home of the celebrated butterfly farmer L.W. Newman and L.H. Newman. Richards father was the well known Entomologist Leonard Talman Ford [ 1881-1961 ] and was an authority and collector of microlepidoptera. Leonard Ford had become the president of the South London Entomological society. Richard Ford went to school in Brighton, Sussex and left without any formal qualifications, but this was no handicap because he had a very successful life as a naturalist and a businessman. In 1931 Ford joined the Newman's to work on their butterfly farm at Bexley and later worked for the Wikinson commonwealth institute of entomology at the British Museum of Natural History. Ford was employed as a study / field collector because his techniques were second to none, he was very successful in studying and collecting all orders of British Insects. In the BMNH there are fifty type specimens, which bear his name.
Richard Ford inspecting his moth catch at a early Robinson moth trap in 1950.
Attachment Deleted
Richard Ford inspecting his freshly hatched Atlas moths in 1950.
Richard Ford serving young customers in the Watkins and Doncaster Strand shop in London 1956.
In the early years in the Strand, the policy of Watkins & Doncaster was to buy a large number of Victorian Natural History collections. These were then broken up and sold as individual items or as a small series of specimens. Richard Ford made a point of purchasing large Entomological collections and let the staff and the BMNH inspect them, in this way over the years Ford donated over 27,000 specimens to the National collection.
In the early 1950's with increasing rents, Ford moved the business to 110 Park View, Welling Kent. In 1963 Richard's son Robin joined his father. In 1969 Richard Ford retired to the Isle of Wight to continue his geological and entomological studies. Ford was very interested in Palaeontology and during his excavations on the Isle of Wight , Ford discovered numerous new fossils.
In 1973 Watkins and Doncaster moved to the new purpose build premises in Hawkhurst in Kent and in 1979, they bought the famous butterfly shop in the Lanes at Brighton, which I also visited. Recently they broke their long association with Kent and Watkins and Doncaster have relocated to the village of Pudleston, which is close to the very lovely old market town of Leominster in Herefordshire.
Peter.
When I was very young I was given the small Observer's pocket book of Larger Moths by R.L.E.Ford [ 1952 and many later editions ], which became a well thumbed volume. Ford, I knew that name , but only found out later the author of my little book was not related to E.B. Ford who have produced the Butterfly and Moth volumes in the New Naturalist series that I borrowed from the library. The Observer's moth book focused on the more spectacular larger moths such as the impressive hawk moths and included all the resident and migrant species. My favoutite was the ' Deaths Head Hawk Moth ' [ Acherontia atropos ]. R. L. E Ford included in his book useful collecting tips on how to obtain each species. I learnt that the best way to obtain the equally large migrant ' Convolvurus Hawk Moth ' [ Agrius convolvuli] was to search the eaves of bathing machines along the south coast. I could not wait for my annual holiday to the Dorset coast. Walking along the beach at Weymouth I was at first disappointed to find that that ' bathing machines ' [ changing huts on wheels] no longer existed, still there were plenty of beach huts to search. Search I did, but in vain, the other holidaymakers may have stared in wonder at the small boy walking along the beach with his butterfly net peering up at the low eaves of their wooden huts. I never did collect a Convolvurus Hawk moth , but the book proved to be very useful for obtaining a number of other moths for my growing collection.
As my interest grew, a year later my parents bought me an edition of another R.L.E. Ford book, Practical Entomology [ first published 1963 ], a volume in the Wayside & Woodland series. This became my cherished reference guide and through its pages , I learnt how to better collect, prepare and maintain my collection. Richard Ford was an outstanding field collector of all orders of insects. This book and its later edition Studying insects [ 1973] are still very useful collectors guides today. It was through this book that I found out the Richard Ford owned the Natural History specimen and equipment suppliers ' Watkins and Doncaster ' and around 1967, my Grandfather and Mother took me to his premises, which were then situated in a large Victorian house in Welling in Kent. Here I looked in awe at the many specimens kept in beautiful rows of mahogany cabinets and my kind grandparents bought me a few items of field and study equipment. I believe the person who served us, was Richard's son Robin, who had joined the business. In this ever changing world, it is nice to be able to say that nearly half a century later ' Watkins & Doncaster not only still provide some of the best equipment available, but also a fast , efficient and friendly reliable service.
In 1874, William Watkins became a natural history dealer from a house in Eastbourne, Sussex, which he named the ' Villa Sphinx ', but which others often called the Villa stinks due to the strong smell of mothballs as you entered the building. It says volumes for Mr Watkins that in one of his catalogues, he was able to list 6000 species of lepidoptera from around the World. He even sent a collector to the Solomon Islands, who as the story goes had to be rescued from cannibals soon after he landed on one of the islands. In 1879, Watkins moved his growing business to 36 the Strand in London and his trademark Swallowtail sign, which was hung outside the building became a well known landmark. In the same year Arthur Doncaster became a partner and although he was deaf and dumb, he was able to converse with his customers by writing everything on a slate board that was hung around his neck. Also despite his disability, Doncaster was a world authority on tropical butterflies and was consultant to a number of museums. Later Frederick Mette, a collector and expert of Bird's eggs bought the business and he struggled to run it on his own and when he died at the start of World War two, it run for a year without a owner and then in 1941 Richard Ford became the new owner.
Watkins and Doncaster catalogues from 1874 to 1936.
Attachment Deleted
Collectors in 1919, enjoying a pint of beer after a hard day's collecting.
Richard Lawrence Ford [ 1913-1996] was born at Bexley in Kent, the home of the celebrated butterfly farmer L.W. Newman and L.H. Newman. Richards father was the well known Entomologist Leonard Talman Ford [ 1881-1961 ] and was an authority and collector of microlepidoptera. Leonard Ford had become the president of the South London Entomological society. Richard Ford went to school in Brighton, Sussex and left without any formal qualifications, but this was no handicap because he had a very successful life as a naturalist and a businessman. In 1931 Ford joined the Newman's to work on their butterfly farm at Bexley and later worked for the Wikinson commonwealth institute of entomology at the British Museum of Natural History. Ford was employed as a study / field collector because his techniques were second to none, he was very successful in studying and collecting all orders of British Insects. In the BMNH there are fifty type specimens, which bear his name.
Richard Ford inspecting his moth catch at a early Robinson moth trap in 1950.
Attachment Deleted
Richard Ford inspecting his freshly hatched Atlas moths in 1950.
Richard Ford serving young customers in the Watkins and Doncaster Strand shop in London 1956.
In the early years in the Strand, the policy of Watkins & Doncaster was to buy a large number of Victorian Natural History collections. These were then broken up and sold as individual items or as a small series of specimens. Richard Ford made a point of purchasing large Entomological collections and let the staff and the BMNH inspect them, in this way over the years Ford donated over 27,000 specimens to the National collection.
In the early 1950's with increasing rents, Ford moved the business to 110 Park View, Welling Kent. In 1963 Richard's son Robin joined his father. In 1969 Richard Ford retired to the Isle of Wight to continue his geological and entomological studies. Ford was very interested in Palaeontology and during his excavations on the Isle of Wight , Ford discovered numerous new fossils.
In 1973 Watkins and Doncaster moved to the new purpose build premises in Hawkhurst in Kent and in 1979, they bought the famous butterfly shop in the Lanes at Brighton, which I also visited. Recently they broke their long association with Kent and Watkins and Doncaster have relocated to the village of Pudleston, which is close to the very lovely old market town of Leominster in Herefordshire.
Peter.
