Henry Christy
Encyclopedia
Henry Christy was an English
banker and collector who left his substantial collections to the British Museum
.
, the second son of William Miller Christy of Woodbines, a Quaker banker who started out in hat manufacture with interests in Stockport
, before becoming a financier. Trained to business by his father, Henry became a partner in the house of Christy & Co. in Gracechurch Street
, and succeeded his father as a director of the London Joint-Stock Bank. Christy was a philanthropist, active in the Great Famine and other causes. He belonged to both the Ethnological Society of London
and the Anthropological Society of London
, representing different strands of learned interest arising from the Aborigines' Protection Society
, which was an activist organisation with a strong input from Quaker abolitionism.
, Sweden
, and Norway
. The public collections of antiquities at Stockholm and Copenhagen were a revelation to him, and from this time he collected objects from contemporary and prehistoric periods. The year 1856 was devoted to America. Travelling over Canada, the United States, and British Columbia
, Christy met Edward Burnett Tylor
in Cuba
, and they went on together to Mexico, where Christy made many purchases. Their Mexican travels were described by Tylor in his Anahuac (London, 1861).
In 1858 the antiquity of man was proved by the discoveries of Boucher de Perthes on flint implements in France; Christy joined the Geological Society that year. He went with the French palæontologist Edouard Lartet
in the examination of the caves along the valley of the Vézère
, a tributary of the Dordogne River
, in the south of France. Remains are embedded in the stalagmites of these caves. Thousands of specimens were obtained, some of them being added to Christy's collection. The sites they investigated included Le Moustier
, the Abri de la Madeleine
, both important type sites.
. While at work he caught a severe cold. A subsequent journey with M. and Mme. Lartet to La Palisse brought on inflammation of the lungs, of which he died on 4 May 1865.
In 1864 he wrote an account of the work which was being carried out at his expense in the Vézère Valley; these notices appeared in the Comptes rendus
(29 February 1864) and Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London
(21 June 1864). They referred mainly to the "reindeer period", as the time of the cavemen in southern France then came to be styled. Christy's funding contributed to the discovery of Cro-Magnon
man in 1868 in a cave near Les Eyzies. An account of the explorations appeared in Christy left a half-finished book, entitled Reliquiae Aquilanicae, being contributions to the Archaeology and Paleontology of Perigord and the adjacent provinces of Southern France; this was completed by Christy's executors, first by Lartet and, after his death in 1870, by Rupert Jones.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
banker and collector who left his substantial collections to the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
Early life
Christy was born at Kingston upon ThamesKingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
, the second son of William Miller Christy of Woodbines, a Quaker banker who started out in hat manufacture with interests in Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, before becoming a financier. Trained to business by his father, Henry became a partner in the house of Christy & Co. in Gracechurch Street
Gracechurch Street
Gracechurch Street is a street in the City of London which forms part of the A10. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, offices and Leadenhall Market....
, and succeeded his father as a director of the London Joint-Stock Bank. Christy was a philanthropist, active in the Great Famine and other causes. He belonged to both the Ethnological Society of London
Ethnological Society of London
The Ethnological Society of London was founded in 1843 by a breakaway faction of the Aborigines' Protection Society . It quickly became one of England's leading scientific societies, and a meeting-place not only for students of ethnology but also for archaeologists interested in prehistoric...
and the Anthropological Society of London
Anthropological Society of London
The Anthropological Society of London was founded in 1863 by Richard Francis Burton and Dr. James Hunt. It broke away from the existing Ethnological Society of London, founded in 1843, and defined itself in opposition to the older society...
, representing different strands of learned interest arising from the Aborigines' Protection Society
Aborigines' Protection Society
The Aborigines' Protection Society was an international human rights organisation, founded in 1837, to protect the health and well-being and the sovereign, legal and religious rights of the indigenous peoples subjected by colonial powers. The Society published tracts, pamphlets, Annual Reports and...
, which was an activist organisation with a strong input from Quaker abolitionism.
Collector
In 1850 Christy began to visit foreign countries. Among the fruits of his first expedition to the East were an extensive collection of Eastern fabrics, and a large series of figures from Cyprus, which are now in the British Museum. After the Great Exhibition of 1851, Christy began the study of tribal peoples. In 1852, and again in 1853, he travelled in DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The public collections of antiquities at Stockholm and Copenhagen were a revelation to him, and from this time he collected objects from contemporary and prehistoric periods. The year 1856 was devoted to America. Travelling over Canada, the United States, and British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Christy met Edward Burnett Tylor
Edward Burnett Tylor
Sir Edward Burnett Tylor , was an English anthropologist.Tylor is representative of cultural evolutionism. In his works Primitive Culture and Anthropology, he defined the context of the scientific study of anthropology, based on the evolutionary theories of Charles Lyell...
in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and they went on together to Mexico, where Christy made many purchases. Their Mexican travels were described by Tylor in his Anahuac (London, 1861).
In 1858 the antiquity of man was proved by the discoveries of Boucher de Perthes on flint implements in France; Christy joined the Geological Society that year. He went with the French palæontologist Edouard Lartet
Édouard Lartet
Édouard Lartet was a French paleontologist.-Biography:Lartet was born near Castelnau-Barbarens, of Gers, France, where his family had lived for more than five hundred years. He was educated for the law at Auch and Toulouse, but having private means elected to devote himself to science...
in the examination of the caves along the valley of the Vézère
Vézère
The Vézère is a 211 km long river in south-western France, right tributary of the Dordogne River. Its source is in the north-western Massif Central...
, a tributary of the Dordogne River
Dordogne River
The Dordogne is a river in south-central and southwest France.-Name:Contrary to appearances, the name of the Dordogne is not a recent word resulting from the names of the Dore and the Dogne...
, in the south of France. Remains are embedded in the stalagmites of these caves. Thousands of specimens were obtained, some of them being added to Christy's collection. The sites they investigated included Le Moustier
Le Moustier
Le Moustier is an archeological site consisting of two rock shelters in Peyzac-le-Moustier, Dordogne, France. It is known for a fossilized skull of the species Homo neanderthalensis that was discovered in 1909...
, the Abri de la Madeleine
Abri de la Madeleine
The Abri de la Madeleine is a prehistoric shelter under an overhanging cliff situated near Tursac, in the Dordogne département and the Aquitaine Région of South-Western France. The Magdalenian culture of the Upper Paleolithic is named after it, as the type site. Prehistoric finds from the site...
, both important type sites.
Death
In April 1865 Christy left England with a small party of geologists to examine some caves which had recently been discovered in Belgium, near DinantDinant
Dinant is a Walloon city and municipality located on the River Meuse in the Belgian province of Namur, Belgium. The Dinant municipality includes the old communes of Anseremme, Bouvignes-sur-Meuse, Dréhance, Falmagne, Falmignoul, Foy-Notre-Dame, Furfooz, Lisogne, Sorinnes, and Thynes.-Origins to...
. While at work he caught a severe cold. A subsequent journey with M. and Mme. Lartet to La Palisse brought on inflammation of the lungs, of which he died on 4 May 1865.
Legacy
By his will Christy bequeathed his collections of modern objects to the nation; his archaeological collection went to the nation, but with the finds from excavations in France to be shared with the French Musée d'Archéologie Nationale, which was to get the most important pieces. He also left £5000 which established the Christy fund that allowed the British Museum to purchase many more artefacts; with a sum of money to be applied to curationc and public exhibition. As there was then no spare room at the British Museum, the trustees secured the suite of rooms at 118 Victoria Street, Westminster (in which Christy himself had lived) and here the collection was exhibited, under the care of A. W. Franks, until 1884. In that year the removal of the natural history department to South Kensington made room for the collection at the British Museum.In 1864 he wrote an account of the work which was being carried out at his expense in the Vézère Valley; these notices appeared in the Comptes rendus
Comptes rendus
Comptes rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, or simply Comptes rendus, is a French scientific journal which has been published since 1666. It is the proceedings of the French Academy of Sciences...
(29 February 1864) and Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London
Ethnological Society of London
The Ethnological Society of London was founded in 1843 by a breakaway faction of the Aborigines' Protection Society . It quickly became one of England's leading scientific societies, and a meeting-place not only for students of ethnology but also for archaeologists interested in prehistoric...
(21 June 1864). They referred mainly to the "reindeer period", as the time of the cavemen in southern France then came to be styled. Christy's funding contributed to the discovery of Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnon
The Cro-Magnon were the first early modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiometrically dated to 35,000 years before present....
man in 1868 in a cave near Les Eyzies. An account of the explorations appeared in Christy left a half-finished book, entitled Reliquiae Aquilanicae, being contributions to the Archaeology and Paleontology of Perigord and the adjacent provinces of Southern France; this was completed by Christy's executors, first by Lartet and, after his death in 1870, by Rupert Jones.