Nicholas Pike Flora and Fauna of Mauritius: Finding Aid mssPike
Gayle M. Richardson
The Huntington Library
January 2024
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Nicholas Pike flora and fauna of Mauritius
Creator:
Pike, Nicholas,
1817-1905
Identifier/Call Number: mssPike
Physical Description:
4.16 Linear Feet
(3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1868-1881
Abstract: The second volume of Flora and Fauna of
Mauritius by Nicholas Pike; it includes the manuscript of the volume, research notes,
correspondence, and watercolor drawings of butterflies, fish, insects, spiders of
Mauritius.
Language of Material: Materials are in English and
Latin.
RESTRICTED: Fragile, cannot be paged until conserved; available with curatorial
approval.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Nicholas Pike flora and fauna of Mauritius, The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Provenance unknown. In library as of approximately 1920.
Nicholas Pike (1817-1905) was an American diplomat and naturalist. Nicholas (also spelled
Nicolas) Pike was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and as a young man worked as an
employee of a paper business in Brooklyn, New York. He was mainly self-taught as a
naturalist and became involved with various Natural History societies and clubs by his 30s.
In 1852, he accepted the post of United States General Counsel to Portugal and served for
six years. During the American Civil War he was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel in the
Union army. In 1866, Pike was appointed as Consul to Mauritius and served in that post until
1873; while there he pursued his interest in natural history and collected many specimens of
fish, spiders, insects, and butterflies, most of which he sent to various museums in the
United States and Europe. After returning to the United States, he married his third wife,
Maria Louisa Hadley in 1875, whom he met in Mauritius; they continued to collaborate in
their natural history studies, collecting, writing, and drawing. Maria Louisa died in 1892
and Nicholas died in 1905 at the age of 87.
The collection includes the manuscript, with accompanying illustrations, of volume two of
Nicholas Pike's Flora and Fauna of Mauritius. The watercolor drawings include butterflies,
fish, insects, and spiders; the drawings also include leaves, spider webs, trees, and
flowers. The drawings were made by Pike and his wife, Maria Louisa Pike. Also included are
research notes, correspondence, and printed material.
Minimally processed by Bill Frank in 2005; in January 2024, Gayle M. Richardson created the
finding aid. Some of the material was removed from a volume by Huntington Library staff.
Arranged by subject and format.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Botanical illustration -- Mauritius
Botany -- Pictorial works
Butterflies -- Pictorial works
Fish -- Pictorial works
Insects -- Pictorial works
Natural history -- Mauritius
Spiders -- Pictorial works
Mauritius -- Description and travel
Botanical illustrations
Letters (correspondence)
Manuscripts
Pictorial albums
Research notes
Scientific illustrations
Watercolors (paintings)
Pike, Maria Louisa, approximately 1824-1892
Box 1
Box 2