Titian Ramsay Peale Collection

The Titian Ramsay Peale collection includes several items belonging to the famous early naturalist explorer and artist.

 

From left to right: pencil JEFF-8397, pencil JEFF-8390, net JEFF 7998, dissecting needle JEFF-8392, glass vial JEFF-8391, tweezers JEFF-8399, box JEFF-7997, paper specimen containers JEFF-8394, card with Titian Peale's name JEFF-8389, net JEFF-8400

J Clark, NPS

Insect Specimen Collection Kit

The insect collection kit consists of a leather box which held: a glass vial, folded papers to store specimens, a dissecting needle, some wooden tweezers, a card labeled "Titian Ramsay Peale", and two pencils. Two insect collecting nets that look a bit like two tennis racquets hinged together called "forceps nets" or "flappers" were also part of his equipment.

Many of the actual butterflies and moths collected by Peale are still extant in Philadelphia at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Due to Peale's careful specimen preservation and the work of museum conservators over the last two centuries it is possible to see many of the actual creatures captured by Peale. They are still housed in the innovative booklike cases he designed and constructed, allowing the viewer to see both sides of the specimens. This amazing resource is one of the oldest natural history collections in America.

Peale was meticulous in documenting his sketches and detailed drawings with numbers to match them to the specimens captured in the field. Today, his sketchbooks from the expedition are owned by Yale University Art Gallery. The drawings are housed at the American Philosophical Society.

 

Breeches

Peale's buckskin breeches were commissioned in 1819 for his upcoming frontier journey, which makes them some of the oldest original artifacts in our museum. The pants were designed in a European style, except they’re made of skillfully tanned buckskin instead of fabric. We don’t know exactly who made the pants or where they were prepared. They do have a maker’s mark that says A. WRIGHT Buckskin, Skin, and Glove Manufactory, but a match for that name was not found in historic business directories of St. Louis, Philadelphia, Baltimore, or other major US cities.

Some visitors are first drawn to these pants because of their tiny size. Titian Ramsay Peale’s height and weight are not easily found in historical records, but it’s clear he was a very small man. As visitors look at these pants, they may reflect on the adventures the pants went on with their owner. Many of our visitors may be familiar with Lewis and Clark, Kit Carson, or John C. Fremont, but Peale isn’t talked about as frequently.

 

Titian R. Peale is engraved on the silver bag clasp band.

NPS Photo

Other Objects

We also have a hunting bag, tin box, insect specimen box, canteen, specimen holder, glass vials, funnel, bullet mold, knife, pocket knife, and bamboo/steel dissecting needle.

 

Peale's scientific expeditions

Peale served as an artist and illustrator on at least two scientific expeditions, which was a very important job in the days before photography. He is most well-known for the Long Expedition. The Long Expedition was named after its leader, Stephen Long, not after its duration. The Long Expedition was actually rather short, from June to September of 1820. Their mission was to observe, collect, and catalog the undescribed animals, plants, and insects in the American West. It was the first scientific party hired by the US Government to explore the Louisiana Territory. Lewis and Clark and Zebulon Pike’s trips had been military expeditions.

This journey had lasting contributions. They returned with literally thousands of insect specimens and hundreds of plants, as well as prepared study skins, a fossil and mineral collection, and hundreds of ink and pencil drawings, watercolor paintings, and field sketches. They described species that Eastern American scientists weren’t familiar with yet, including the coyote, which used to only be found west of the Mississippi river. However, there was hardship on the journey as well. They lost their way on the return trip by accidentally following the Canadian River instead of the Red River. They did not have enough people, horses, food, or equipment. When they ran out of food, the men tried to hunt but could not find sufficient large game and resorted to eating owl, badger, and skunk. They often went without water and suffered from biting insects. Worst of all, when some members of the party deserted, they took scientific manuscripts and journals with them. Because of these hardships, the expedition is most often remembered as a failure.

After the expedition, Titian Peale continued his work as a scientific illustrator, worked for his family’s museum, served as chief naturalist on a global scientific expedition, and later worked at the US Patent office. He died in Philadelphia in 1885.

As you visit Titian Peale’s possessions in the museum, imagine the struggle and elation that their owner might have felt exploring uncharted territory in the name of scientific discovery.