Mary Anning junior was a)
female and b) orphaned at the young age of 10. She was additionally
of working class, uneducated, Devon origin. She was moreover
a dissenter, who published nothing and travelled little.
Her life is thus c)
difficult for historians to study
but d) proves to be fascinating.
This illustrated lecture will
attempt to explore all of these
problems, and outline her
extraordinary achievements.
Her work, as a "merely commercial"
collector of fossils,
illuminates the importance of
Museums, and of the proper
preservation, and study, of
their collections today. It also
opens up the complex debate
about who is amateur and who
professional.
