Seaman, [John Simpson] | The other Leverian Museum…

Seaman, [John Simpson]

Now Open … The Leverian Museum. London: D. Cartwright, [1824]

Broadside (535 x 165 mm). Woodcut coat of arms at top, letterpress text in numerous fonts, printed recto and verso, text on verso within decorative border; old folds, minor browning, a few stray spots. Matted, framed, and glazed with Plexiglas; not examined out of frame. 

"Birds, Beasts, Insects, &c. Bought, Sold, or Exchanged"

The original Leverian collection was assembled by Ashton Lever, and was noted for the content it acquired from the voyages of Captain James Cook. It remained on display from 1775 until 1806, when it was broken up at auction. 

Mr. Seaman (or John Simpson Seaman) was a member of a Sussex family that produced four "professional" naturalists. His father was an Ipswich-based taxidermist, and a dealer in natural history specimens. Seaman established a travelling museum that toured country fairs, often alongside Wombwell's Menagerie. The collection was frequently referred to as the "Leverian Museum," though it's probable that the Seaman family only acquired a small portion of that collection when it was sold in London in 1806. 

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