For social historians and nature lovers alike! Supported by the Council, this promises to be a fascinating illustrated talk by two fine authors (one, our very own Henry McGhie, Head of Collections and Curator of Zoology at Manchester Museum, and the other, respected author and journalist Tessa Boase) brought together in the city for one night only!

 

Tuesday 27th November

Starts promptly 7pm - 8.30pm

Ticket only

Friends Meeting House

Mount Street

City Centre

Manchester

M2 5NS

 

It will be a cracker and really does deserve a full house, and we have limited free tickets available, plus there's a chance to get signed book copies - ideal Christmas presents!

 

 

Victorian England. A time of hurtling change for the country, the landscape, and for both women and men. Urbanisation is on the rise, the natural world is under threat as never before - yet there are no laws in place to protect it. Step forward the gentlemen naturalist... and the middle class lady campaigner. Though their worlds were different in so many ways, these two groups networked and collaborated for the cause of bird protection in Britain.

 

And yet they are maligned by modern conservationists. 

 

Henry Dresser was a businessman and so-called 'amateur' ornithologist, whose diligent collecting of bird skins and eggs over a lifetime vastly expanded scientific knowledge and changed the course of natural history. Much of his collection now housed in the Manchester Museum. Emily Williamson, Eliza Philips and Etta Lemon, staunch Christians, all put their energies into saving the birds from the Victorian fashion for feathered hats, or 'murderous millinery'. Early conversations began in Didsbury, 1889. The result was the might Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - the RSPB.

 

These two forgotten stories have now been brought thrillingly back to life by writers Henry McGhie and Tessa Boase. For one night only, they are joining forces to shed light in a fascinating moment in time: an era that would shape the world's view of the environment for generations to come. 

 

Henry McGhie's 'Henry Dresser and Victorian Ornithology: Birds, Books and Business' explores Henry Dresser's involvement in bird conservation, scientific discovery and the production of scientific knowledge at a hugely exciting time of exploration and discovery. "This is a magnificent exploration of (British)Victorian ornithology, which brings to life many of the key figures of the period of their frequently very strained relationships." - Alan Knox, British Birds

 

Tessa Boase's book 'Mrs Pankhurst's Purple Feather' delves into the murky wold of the plumage trade, bringing to life the brave women who fought back on behalf of the birds. This is the story the RSPB has never found time to tell. "Riveting. Dexterously told, vividly imagined, shrewdly analysed. Tessa Boase has worked a little bit of magic here in bringing these women to life, and championing the cause of the unsung." - Conor Jameson, British Birds