Frederick York, The Mammalian Room, a photograph

The British Museum, London, England, AD 1875

This is one of a collection of photographs taken by Frederick York of Notting Hill, London in 1875.

The Mammalian Room was situated in the east wing of the Museum, on the floor above the Manuscripts Saloon. Through the circular window at the far end of the saloon would be visible the garden of the Principal Librarian's house (now the site of the White Wing).

The whale skeleton hangs above the bust, almost in homage, of John Edward Gray, Keeper of Zoology from 1840 to 1875 and the great-nephew of Edward Whitaker Gray, the Keeper of the Department of Natural and Artificial Products from 1787 to 1806. The whale skeleton came from New Zealand and dominates the cases below that display corals and sponges. The arrangement of the saloon cases was as follows:

Nos. 1-20: monkeys, lemurs and loris
Nos. 21-50: carnivorous quadrupeds such as a lion, tiger, lynx and bears
Nos. 51-52: insectivorous animals such as moles and hedgehogs
Nos. 53-64: marsupials
Nos. 65-81: seals and gnawing mammals, such as the South American Capybara

On the tops of the cases were arranged seals porpoises, dolphins and manatees.