Sir William Jardine and the Ichnology of Annandale

ABSTRACT

Sir William Jardine was a polymath; he was one of the world's foremost ornithologists, and ichthyologists, as well as a knowledgeable geologist, entomologist and botanist. He was a talented and skilled artist and engraver and a keen hunter and fisherman. He was also the author of the book The Ichnology of Annandale that represents the first book ever published on the subject of ichnology. It was here in this volume that Jardine coined the word ichnology. It is also one of the rarest ichnology publications, as it is believed that only 135–140 copies were ever printed. This volume remains the most lavishly illustrated book in vertebrate ichnology literature. This paper discusses the work of Jardine, the finds from his estate and his role in defining ichnology as a science.

KEYWORDS:

• History of ichnology
• Sir William Jardine
• Ichnology of Annandale
• Vertebrate tracks

Acknowledgments

During the research of this project, we have had help from the following individuals and would like to thank them for their assistance: Mr. Phillip Powell, University of Oxford; Ms. Siobhan Ratchford, Dumfries Museum; Dr. W. D. Ian Rolfe, National Museums of Scotland; and Ms. Mary Martin, Savings Bank Museum at Ruthwell. We would also like to thank Ryan King for bringing our attention to the Barron 1840 book. We are especially grateful to Dr. Stig Walsh, Senior Curator of Vertebrate Palaeobiology National Museums Scotland for being so generous with his time and supplying SGP with photographs of some of the Jardine specimens and relevant literature. We are indebted to Mr. Henry Duncan, the great-great-great grandson of Dr. Duncan, who supplied information regarding his illustrious ancestor to SGP. The senior author would like to thank the Canada Research Chair Program for support in his research.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this project was from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada Grant Number A0816.