The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
Francis Jessop (1639 - 1691)
Mill owner, naturalist and mathematician. See Raven, John Ray: Naturalist and W.H.G. Armytage, "Francis Jessop, 1639-1691: a Seventeenth Century Sheffield Scientist," Notes and Queries 197 (2 Aug. 1952): 343-346. Other Links: lister.history.ox.ac.uk/index-page_id=332.html#fn-332-1 - Relevant locations: Residence at Broom Hall, SheffieldRelationships: Francis Jessop was a friend of Martin Lister (12 Apr 1639-2 Feb 1712)
Francis Jessop was a friend of John Ray (1627-1705)
Francis Jessop was a friend of Francis Willughby (22 Nov 1635-03 Jul 1672)
Mr. Fisher (-fl. c. 1675) was a associate or acquaintance (general) of Francis Jessop
Linked print sources: as Author (in assoc. with a ms or print source) - An account of two uncommon mineral substances, found in some coal and iron-mines of England; as it was given by the intelligent and learned Mr. Jessop of Bromhal in Yorkshire to the ingenious Mr. Lister, and by him communicated to the publisher in a letter of January 7. 1673/74.
as Author (in assoc. with a ms or print source) - An extract of a letter of July 28, 1675. by Mr. Lister from York to the publisher; containing some observations about damps, together with some relations concerning odd worms vomited by children, &c..
as Mentioned or referenced by - John Ray, Naturalist: His Life and Works.
as Mentions or references - An extract of a letter of July 28, 1675. by Mr. Lister from York to the publisher; containing some observations about damps, together with some relations concerning odd worms vomited by children, &c..
References in Documents:
I
not common.
with violent vomiting Fits, which held her for about a week,
and made her so weak, that her Parents began to despair of her
recovery. They at length sent for
Fisher
other things to say, Worm-wood was good for the
Sto
mach.
He going home to fetch things proper on that occasion,
they in the mean time offer'd her some Wormwood-Ale, which
she took so greedily, that she swallowed down a pint of it.
Fisher
up in his presence three
(See Fig. 2.) all very active and nimble. The Girle in a short
time recovered, and was well.
Fisher
brought the
ing
Experiments upon it. I remembring, I had seen some very
like them, which devoured the skins of such Birds as I kept
dried for Willoughby
dodes
weeks time they eat up, bones, feathers and all, except the ex
tremities
of the feathers and the beaks. I desiring to see, what
seems, agreed not so well with them, for they died within two
daies.
I have often been puzled to give an account of those
menaFairy Circles; I have seen
many of them, and those of two sorts, one sort bare of seven
or eight yards diameter, making a round path something more
than a foot broad, with green grass in the middle; the others
like them, but of several bignesses, and encompassed with a
circumference of grass, about the same breadth, much fresher
and greener than that in the middle. But my worthy Friend
WalkerGeometry,
but in all other Accomplishments, gave me full satisfaction from
his own Experience. It was his chance one day, to walk out
amongst some Mowing-grass (in which he had been but a little
while before,) after a great storm of Thunder and Lightning,
which seemed by the noise and flashes to have been very near
him. He presently observed a round Circle, of about four or
five yards diameter, the rim whereof was about a foot broad,
newly burnt bare, as the colour and brittleness of the Grassroots
did plainly testifie. He knew not what to ascribe it unto
but the Lightning, which, besides the odd
in that fire in particular, might without any wonder, like all
other Fires, move round, and burn more in the extremities than
the middle. After the Grass was mowed, the next year it came
up more fresh and green in the place burnt, than in the middle,
and at mowing time was much taller and ranker. Thus far Mr.
him to assist him with some Queries about the fulminating Damp
with what convenient speed you can.† Such Queries as
art here desired,
are already dispatched away, with hopes, they will shortly receive an answer.
stance
not unlike that in this Letter:
A B
of age, in the month of February last
pain in his Stomach, and continual Vomitings. A Powder was
given, wherein was a small quantity of
thereupon vomited up several strange
were brought to me at
which lived many daies after it came to my hands, and might
have lived longer, but that I put it into Spirit of Wine, to
preserve it in its true shape. These Worms were very Caterpillars
with fourteen legs,
viz.six small pointed, the eight
middle stumps, and the two hind claspers; something more
than an inch long, and of the thickness of a Ducks-quill, thin
haired or rather naked, with brown
The very same for kind that I have many times seen on Plants,
and no doubt, these (as those others) would in due time (if the
place had not hindered) have shrunk into
changed into Moths. As also those mentioned by Mr.
would have changed to Beetles.
stance
not unlike that in this Letter:
A B
of age, in the month of February last
pain in his Stomach, and continual Vomitings. A Powder was
given, wherein was a small quantity of
thereupon vomited up several strange
were brought to me at
which lived many daies after it came to my hands, and might
have lived longer, but that I put it into Spirit of Wine, to
preserve it in its true shape. These Worms were very Caterpillars
with fourteen legs,
viz.six small pointed, the eight
middle stumps, and the two hind claspers; something more
than an inch long, and of the thickness of a Ducks-quill, thin
haired or rather naked, with brown
The very same for kind that I have many times seen on Plants,
and no doubt, these (as those others) would in due time (if the
place had not hindered) have shrunk into
changed into Moths. As also those mentioned by Mr.
would have changed to Beetles.
Leonard Baltner, a Fisherman of
aStrasburgh ,
near that City, as also all the Fish and Water-Insects found there, drawn with great curiosity and exactness by an excellent hand. The which Fowl, Fishes, and Insects the saidRhene
had himself taken, described, and at his own proper costs and charges caused to be drawn. Which curiosity is much to be admired and commended in a Person of his Condition and Education. For my part, I must needs acknowledge that I have received much light and information from the Work of this poor man, and have been thereby inabled to clear many difficulties, and rectifie some mistakes inBaltner
Gesner .
inNurenberg
he bought a largeGermany
as beyond the Seas, to be drawn by good Artists.England
Professor of Physick in the City ofThomas Brown ,
frankly communicated theNorwich ,
and some out ofMarggravius 's,
his Exotics,Clusius
his Natural History of thePiso
andWest Indies ,
his of theBontius
East.
The Gravers we employed, though they were very good Workmen, yet in many Sculps
they have not satisfied me. For I being at a great distance from London, and all advices and directions necessarily
passing by Letter, sometimes through haste mistook in my directions, sometimes
through weariness and impatience of long Writing sent not so clear and full
instructions as was requisite; and they as often neglected their instructions,
or mistook my meaning. Notwithstanding the Figures, such as they are, take them
all together, they are the best and truest, that is, most like the live Birds,
of any hitherto engraven in Brass.
It is requisite now that we inform the Reader what compendious ways we sought to
avoid unnecessary expences in graving of Figures. 1. Of the same Species of Bird
when more Figures than one occurred either in divers Authors, or our own Papers,
or both, we caused only one, which we judged to be the best to be engraven. 2.
We have for the most part contented our selves with the figure of one Sex only,
and that the Male. 3. We have omitted all such dubious Icons as we knew not whether they were of true birds or not, or could
not certainly determine of what Species they were. 4. Of
such as differ only in bigness, or if otherwise in such accidents as cannot be
expressed in Sculpture, we have given only the Figure of the greater. Of this
kind are the greater and lesser Curlew, the common Snipe, and Jack-Snipe, or Judcock. And yet some Birds we have caused to be graven
twice when the first time the Gravers mist their aim, and shot too wide of their
mark: Such are the red-leg'd Partridge, The common Swallow, the Swift, the common Blackbird, the House-Dove, the Royston Crow, the Witwall, and the
Dottrel. I might add hereto the Sheldrake was through mistake twice figured in Plates 70. and 71. so
was the Auk or Rozor-bill in
Plates 64. and 65. The figures of the Rock Ouzel,
Bittern, and Stone-Curlew first graven, though
they were passable enough, yet having afterwards gotten very exact Figures of
those Birds, we caused them also to be Engraven.
The whole Work we have divided into three Books. In the first we treat of Birds in general; in the second of Land-fowl; in the third of Water-Fowl. The
second Book we have divided into two parts: The first whereof contains Birds of
crooked Beak and Talons; The second, such whose Bills
and Claws are more streight. The third Book is
tripartite: The first part takes in all Birds that wade
in the waters, or frequent watery places, but swim not; The second, such as are
of a middle nature between swimmers and waders, or rather
that partake of both kinds, some whereof are cloven-footed, and yet swim; others
whole-footed, but yet very long-leg'd like the waders: The third is of
whole-footed, or fin-toed Birds, that swim in the
water.
As for fabulous Birds, such as are confessedly so, viz.
Phenixes, Griffins, Harpyes, Ruk, and the like, I have omitted them, as
being no part of our subject, and all that can be said of them having
been more than once written already. I have also omitted some that I only
suspected for fictitious, as the Scythian Bird, the Aquila Heteropus, &c. Yet because I would not rely
too much upon my own judgment, I have put in the Appendix
the descriptions of some of that nature out of Hernandez,
which I refer to the Readers censure.
It remains that I make a grateful mention of such of our learned and
worthy Friends, as have given us any considerable information or
assistance; as well to do them right, as to acquaint the Reader whom we mean by
some names recorded in this Work. Those were Sir Thomas
Brown of
Parish,Sheffield
who sent us the Descriptions and Cases of many rare Birds, and discovered and gave us notice of many Species thereabout, which we knew not before to be native ofYorkshire ,
England :
ofPhilip Skippon
in the County ofBliborough
ofRalph Johnson
nearBrignal
inGreta Bridge
a Person of singular skill inYorkshire ,
Zoology,especially the
Historyof
Birds,who besides the Descriptions and
Genera.
Among the whole-footed Water-fowl we omitted the Recurvirostra or Avosetta Italorum, which in
Winter-time often frequents our coasts, the Shear-water
of Mergulus melanoleucos rostro acute brevi of the same.
This Bird hath not as yet been described by any Author extant in
Print that we know of. It abides constantly at Sea, gets
itsliving by diving, and is taken in Nets placed under water. In
the wash in Lincolnshire it is found
plentifully. Its Case
Fr.Jessop out of
Next we got it atYorkshire :
as we have said: ThenChester ,
Thomas Brown
and lastly, Mr.Norwich ;
sent a description of it in his method of Birds, in which description are some particulars not observed by us,Johnson
viz.that the Male hath on the upper side some tincture of shining green, and that in the Hen the Neck and Head on both sides, as far as the Eyes, is white.