Jean-Marie Bachelot de la Pylaie Juncus manuscript
Scope and Content
This collection consists of a manuscript entitled “Joncs et Luzules observies 'a l'ile de Terre Neuve par M. De la Pylaie 1816 et 1819-1820.” It lists 18 Juncus and three Luzula species with brief descriptions of locations where each was found. This may be someone else's notes on Bachelot de la Pylaie's unpublished manuscript. The folder in which the manuscript was found was labeled "J. Gay," but the handwriting of the manuscript does not appear to match the handwriting of letters from Jacques Gay in the Gray Herbarium. The notes are believed to date from the first half of the 19th century.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1820
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is available by appointment for research. Researchers must register and provide one form of valid photo identification. Please contact botref@oeb.harvard.edu for additional information.
Extent
0.1 linear feet (1 folder) : 1 item (4 pages) ; 18 x 23 cm, folded to 18 x 12 cmBiographical Note
Auguste-Jean-Marie Bachelot de la Pylaie was born on May 25, 1786 in Fougères, Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany to a noble family. His father was René -Roch-Pierre Bachelot de la Pilaie, his mother was Claire-Renée-Geneviève Vigeon, dame du Plessix. Though he trained as a lithographer, he pursued varied interests as a botanist, explorer, and archaeologist, making several trips to Africa and North America.
Bachelot de la Pylaie traveled to the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon in Newfoundland in 1816 and 1819-1820, collecting botanical specimens and making notes on the flora of the area. A general description of his travels, “Voyage a l'Ile de Terre-Neuve,” was published in 1825 in the ”Mémoires de la Société Linnéenne de Paris.” He planned to produce a more extensive description of Newfoundland flora that would include his own illustrations, but succeeded only in publishing the first part of ”Flore de Terre-Neuve et des Iles St. Pierre et Miclon” in 1829. Soon after, Bachelot de la Pylaie turned his attention to archaeology. Little is known of the last two decades of his life. He died on November 8, 1856 in Paris.
Bachelot de la Pylaie’s herbarium specimens and some of his unpublished manuscripts, including his travel journals and an illustrated essay, “Essai sur la Flore de Terre-Nueve et des Iles St. Pierre et Miclon,” are deposited at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris.
Sources
Le Gallo C. 1948. Trois Botanistes aux Iles Saint-Pierre et Miquelon. Naturaliste Canad. 75(8-10):187-196.
South GR. 1970. A. J. M. Bachelot de la Pylaie. Newfoundland Quarterly 67(3):14-16.
Provenance
The Bachelot de la Pylaie Juncus Manuscript was given to the Gray Herbarium by Franz Buchenau (1831-1906), who corresponded with Gray Herbarium directors Benjamin L. Robinson and Merritt L. Fernald about the flora of Newfoundland and about the genus Juncus.
General note
The manuscript was digitized in July 2023 and linked to the finding aid.
Processed by
Lynn McWhood, December 1981.
Creator
- Title
- Bachelot de La Pylaie, Jean-Marie, 1786-1856. Jean-Marie Bachelot de la Pylaie Juncus manuscript, circa 1820: A Guide.
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Botany Libraries, Gray Herbarium Library, Harvard University.
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- gra00010
Repository Details
Part of the Botany Libraries, Gray Herbarium Library, Harvard University Repository
The Harvard University Herbaria houses five research libraries that are managed collectively as the Botany Libraries. The Gray Herbarium Library specializes in the identification and classification of New World plants with emphasis on North American plants. The Archives of the Gray Herbarium houses unique resources including personal papers, institutional records, field notes and plant lists, expedition records, photographs, original artwork, and objects from faculty, curators, staff, and affiliates of the Gray Herbarium.
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