Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum

About 35 years ago I had occasion to do some research in the entomological collections of the Natural History Museum, that Victorian colossus on Cromwell Road, London. I was left to my own devices. Eventually I needed to use a WC (i.e., a loo) and went in search of one. I wandered forever. Eventually I opened an unmarked door and was confronted with a small room packed with the enormous antlers of the extinct Irish elk. Natural history museums are like that.The Smithsonian has been called "America's attic." The Natural History Museum is the attic for the entire British Empire! Like all attics, it contains a great deal of odd stuff. Odd people, too. Richard Fortey, a career paleontologist at what old-timers like me still call the "BM" (for "British Museum," from which it is now divorced), knows or knew a great many of them. This book is partly a history of the Museum, akin to "Bankers, Bones and Beetles" by G. Hellman for the American Museum of Natural History (New York), partly an insider's memoir, partly a commentary on what museums are for, and partly--thank God--a collection of hilarious anecdotes about those odd museum people: the anal-retentive curator who saved string in bins by length, the smallest bin being reserved for pieces "too short for use;" the oh-so-systematic lothario with the well-curated, fully-annotated collection of pubic-hair samples of all his inamorata; the knighted Museum director who was so rotund that people referred to him behind his back as "Sir Cumference" and "the volvox" (Volvox being a perfectly spherical microorganism); and perhaps my favorite, the foraminiferan specialist Edward Heron-Allen, who was also a Persian linguist, a poet, a historian of stringed instruments, and an occultist who possessed an amethyst looted from a temple in India in 1855 and haunted by a Hindu ghost. If these teasershaven't piqued your interest, nothing will!

I like Richard Fortey's books. I haven't found a one that I have not enjoyed. This is because he is a good writer. While I happen to have a layman's interest in the subjects he writes about, I also know from dour experience that there are a great many writers on these subjects that are simply not very good. Trilobites are fascinating; not all books about them are.Here Fortey turns his gaze inward, sort of, to examine his work-home of the past 40 years, the Natural History Museum in London. He examines and plays around with the nooks and crannies of its history, physical spaces, objects artifacts and, perhaps most fun of all, the odd, curious, brilliant, pompous, fascinating, funny, exasperating, pugnacious, officious and tumultuous personalities who also called it their work home.Any long-lived institution is bound to have its characters, but museums encourage it. No one gets rich in museum work (though it sometimes attracts those of, um, independent means). Long-term museum people pretty much have to love it - or rather, love their subject of study and research. Single minded obsession with, say, trilobites, for example, tends to bend one's personality into interesting shapes. Fortey understands, and likely suffers some from, this and his treatment of his coworkers, and the many who came before, is warm, witty and thoughtful, even if he doesn't seem to suffer fools (or bureaucrats) gladly.I'll not get into great detail here. If you are reading reviews of this book, then 9 chances out of ten, you are going to enjoy yourself in its pages. Fortey is a good writer writing about interesting things and people. If you are a museum person, you will be right at home here. If the thought of reading about the behind the scenes history of this sort of institution sounds dull and boring, then, well, you should move along. The rest of us will get along just fine here.

We can be glad that Richard Fortey doesn't turn his nose up at gossip. This book is a double treat. You learn some neat facts about natural history and the history of science, and you also learn that there used to be a still in the belly of the London natural history museum's blue whale replica. Sometimes Fortey gets too cute with alliterations and other playful devices, but one gets the impression that he is merely getting carried away with the joy of remembering his years at the museum.Beyond the gossip and the science, this is also a book about the nature of work and how it has changed. What used to be a leisurely career at the museum, where for many workers there was minimal oversight and no real pressure to publish, seems to have become in recent years driven by the need for productivity and cost-effectiveness. Although this change is in some ways sad, it also means that a scientist can no longer retire before anyone happens to notice that he has spent his career collecting bits of string.And beyond being a book about changes in scientific work, Dry Storeroom No. 1 is a book about the changing role of the museum. Is it a place to do science, or is it show biz? Even Richard Fortey admits that when it comes to engaging the public, there's a lot to be said for show biz.

You might think, with this title, that this book would be dry, but I found it to be a page-tuner! It is scientifically interesting, wittily written, full of surprises, personalities, - very droll. I loved it. If you love natural history museums, if you are fascinated by the time(s) in history when amateur collectors were discovering new plant and animal species on local and exotic expeditions, or how we keep learning more about evolution with each new discovery, you might just love this book. I read it right after reading some fiction with echos of this theme- Elizabeth Gilbert's, The Signature of All Things, Ann Patchett's, State of Wonder, and Tracy Chevalier's Remarkable Creatures, all of which I recommend.

This is a great book for anybody that has an interest in Natural History. As a big fan of the Natural History museum I was interested in learning more about what goes on behind the scenes and this has proved to be the perfect book for my quest! Richard Fortey explored the back rooms of the museum when he was working there and admits that even over that time he realises that there is still so much that he hasn't yet seen. Obviously this is a world that will remain closed off for the rest of us but I found it so fascinating to think about all these different rooms filled with weird and wonderful relics, fossils and collections. Fortey shares his knowledge throughout the book, complemented by his quirky sense of humour. He gives detailed descriptions of the different rooms filled with drawers upon drawers containing collections of insects and birds to the bizarre sounding Spirit Rooms which previously held the jars of preserved animals and bits and pieces. Fortey describes eccentric characters that he met during his time there, including some very funny little stories about his co-workers and their activities!There are some wonderful pictures of some of the exhibits and collections.Overall a brilliant read, lots of great information. Taxonomy (the naming of names) is explained very well, and was something that I was curious about after reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Have a read, you won't disappointed.

Like lifting a veil, this book provides a tantalising glimpse of behind the scenes at one of the world's great museums and, like a comfortable pair of slippers, you immediately feel at home.Behind the scenes are a veritable theatrical production of characters, a world of mysterious exhibits and collections and a way of life which immediately makes you want to explore and learn more - the perfect backdrop for such an establishment.This good read, creating a very satisfying feeling of knowing more than the public should and making you feel part of the place. Great stuff.

I rather like richard fortey's writing, he explain things so well.

Really loved this book. It’s amazing getting to know about the life behind the locked doors of a place so many of us know well. I would recommend this to any natural history enthusiast (or even someone who just likes museums), because it’s really interesting to learn about the wonderful people who contribute so much to the knowledge of our world.

I am reading this on a KIndle-maybe that makes a difference-but oh so difficult to become engaged-so many words (and I like Russian novels). I was going to buy it for my brother for Christmas-thought he might like to re-visit Museum-now not so sure