{"id":2023,"date":"2020-06-03T17:12:12","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T21:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taylor-white.library.mcgill.ca\/?page_id=2023"},"modified":"2020-08-24T10:29:39","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T14:29:39","slug":"the-research-project","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/taylor-white.library.mcgill.ca\/?page_id=2023","title":{"rendered":"The Research Project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Taylor White Research Project, <\/strong>September 2018 to June 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Taylor White Research project received funding from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca\/home-accueil-eng.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"color:#0071a1\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council<\/span><\/a> of Canada&#8217;s (SSHRC) Insights Development Grant Program in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Project\u2019s overall objective is to make the Taylor White Collection accessible as a resource for the study of the development of natural history in the Enlightenment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By situating Taylor White and his activities within the context of the Enlightenment taxonomic project, the Project also seeks<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>to explore the creation and use of personal collections during a period when one of the Enlightenment\u2019s great collecting projects &#8211; that of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britishmuseum.org\/about-us\/british-museum-story\/sir-hans-sloane\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"color:#0071a1\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Sir Hans Sloane<\/span><\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britishmuseum.org\/about-us\/british-museum-story\/history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span style=\"color:#0071a1\" class=\"has-inline-color\">British Museum<\/span><\/a> &#8211; also takes shape.<\/li><li>To explore the role of artists and patrons in the creation of the scientific image, and<\/li><li>To understand how a legacy collection contributes to the study of biosystematics.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Making the Collection Accessible<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McGill University Library has digitized all drawings and manuscript notes, which are available through McGill University Archives<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/archivalcollections.library.mcgill.ca\/index.php\/taylor-white-collection\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color:#0071a1\" class=\"has-inline-color\"> here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, the research group has documented the 938 works and enriched the archive by<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Identifying the artists and attributing all works<\/li><li>Transcribing all inscriptions on the paintings, and translating from the Latin into English where required<\/li><li>Transcribing all manuscript notes, and translating from the Latin into English<\/li><li>Identifying each specimen according to modern taxonomic nomenclature and adding information on historic and contemporary distribution<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Exploring Taylor White\u2019s Legacy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to situate Taylor White within the historic context, the group has undertaken research into the relationship between <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/taylor-white.library.mcgill.ca\/?page_id=17#jumppa\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color:#0071a1\" class=\"has-inline-color\">patron<\/span><\/a> and natural history artist in the<sup> <\/sup>eighteenth century; the work of the \u201camateur\u201d naturalist and development of scientific classification; the practice of note-taking; the social and cultural context of naturalists and the Royal Society; the process of specimen acquisition, and mid-eighteenth century exchange networks of collectors and naturalists; the circulation of information and the use of\u00a0 \u201ccopies\u201d by artists and naturalists; the preparation of text and image for publication. Close reading of the collection itself has revealed new information on the role of the Royal Navy and native collectors in providing specimens; the impact of the slave trade on both specimen acquisition and identification; range and distribution of now extinct or extirpated species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Taylor White Project Group<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill Library<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr Victoria Dickenson, Adjunct Professor, Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill (Principal Investigator)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lauren Williams, Blacker Wood Librarian, Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jennifer Garland, Liaison Librarian, Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Redpath Museum, McGill University<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr David Green, Professor, Biology, and former Director Redpath Museum, McGill<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr Virginie Millien, Assistant Professor, Curator of Zoology &amp; Palaeontology, Redpath Museum, McGill<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Research Team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"mailto: victoria.j.dickenson@mcgill.ca\"><span style=\"color:#0071a1\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Dr Victoria Dickenson, McGill University<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mcgill.ca\/library\/librarians\/lauren-williams\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color:#0071a1\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Lauren Williams, McGill University<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Robert Montgomerie, Queens University<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>McGill Student Research Assistants<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hayley Eaves<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emilienne Greenfield<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vida Javidi<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>C\u00e9line Stantina<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emily Zinger<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Undergraduate Project Team<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emily Brown<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Audrey Gray<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emily Young With the assistance of research assistant Jessica Ford<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our thanks to Mehmood Khalid and the rest of McGill\u2019s Digital Initiatives team for their support in the creation of this website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Taylor White Research Project, September 2018 to June 2020 The Taylor White Research project received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada&#8217;s (SSHRC) Insights Development Grant Program in 2018. The Project\u2019s overall objective is to make the Taylor White Collection accessible as a resource for the study of the development of natural history in the Enlightenment. By situating Taylor White and his activities within the context of the Enlightenment taxonomic project, the Project also seeks to explore the creation and use of personal collections during a period when one of the Enlightenment\u2019s great collecting projects &#8211; that of Sir Hans Sloane and the British Museum &#8211; also takes shape. To explore the role of artists and patrons in the creation of the scientific image, and To understand how a legacy collection contributes to the study of biosystematics. Making the Collection Accessible McGill University Library has digitized all drawings and manuscript notes, which are available through McGill University Archives here. In addition, the research group has documented the 938 works and enriched the archive by Identifying the artists and attributing all works Transcribing all inscriptions on the paintings, and translating from the Latin into English where required Transcribing all manuscript notes, and translating from the Latin into English Identifying each specimen according to modern taxonomic nomenclature and adding information on historic and contemporary distribution Exploring Taylor White\u2019s Legacy In order to situate Taylor White within the historic context, the group has undertaken research into the relationship between patron and natural history artist in the eighteenth century; the work of the \u201camateur\u201d naturalist and development of scientific classification; the practice of note-taking; the social and cultural context of naturalists and the Royal Society; the process of specimen acquisition, and mid-eighteenth century exchange networks of collectors and naturalists; the circulation of information and the use of\u00a0 \u201ccopies\u201d by artists and naturalists; the preparation of text and image for publication. Close reading of the collection itself has revealed new information on the role of the Royal Navy and native collectors in providing specimens; the impact of the slave trade on both specimen acquisition and identification; range and distribution of now extinct or extirpated species. Taylor White Project Group Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill Library Dr Victoria Dickenson, Adjunct Professor, Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill (Principal Investigator) Lauren Williams, Blacker Wood Librarian, Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill Jennifer Garland, Liaison Librarian, Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill Redpath Museum, McGill University Dr David Green, Professor, Biology, and former Director Redpath Museum, McGill Dr Virginie Millien, Assistant Professor, Curator of Zoology &amp; Palaeontology, Redpath Museum, McGill Research Team Dr Victoria Dickenson, McGill University Lauren Williams, McGill University Robert Montgomerie, Queens University McGill Student Research Assistants Hayley Eaves Emilienne Greenfield Vida Javidi C\u00e9line Stantina Emily Zinger Undergraduate Project Team Emily Brown Audrey Gray Emily Young With the assistance of research assistant Jessica Ford Our thanks to Mehmood Khalid and the rest of McGill\u2019s Digital Initiatives team for their support in the creation of this website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2023","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taylor-white.library.mcgill.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taylor-white.library.mcgill.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taylor-white.library.mcgill.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taylor-white.library.mcgill.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taylor-white.library.mcgill.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2023"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/taylor-white.library.mcgill.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2169,"href":"https:\/\/taylor-white.library.mcgill.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2023\/revisions\/2169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taylor-white.library.mcgill.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}