R Pryor

[oldnick]

R Pryor has 11 sheets, in BIRM, ABS and K, 1835-45, and is closely associated with C E Salmon. 3 typical sheets have been edited as 'Rebecca Pryor' - though this name doesn't appear on the sheets - and it would be interesting to know her identity

[Roger Horton]

I wonder if these are mistranscriptions of 'Prior', i.e. Richard Chandler Alexander, after 1859 Richard Chandler Alexander Prior *, 1809 - 1902.

K&A says his collection passed to C.E. Salmon, and also represented in collections at Bot. Soc. Edinbugh, Forres, Glos. city museum & art gallery, Kew, Cardiff NMW, Taunton, and Warwick Archeol. & NHS, etc.

* In 1849 he inherited property on the understanding that he would assume the name of Prior, and thereafter he divided his time between his country estate in Somerset and his town house in London.

[David Price]

There are also a few spmns attributed to Richard Chandler Alexander.

I have posted the following biographical note against both Alexander and Prior -
"English physician and botanist from Corsham, Wiltshire who was born Richard Chandler Alexander but changed his surname to Prior in 1859. Some sources give his surname as 'Alexander Prior'. He was briefly Curator of the Fielding Herbarium, Oxford and collected widely. His British herbarium was acquired by BM with that of C.E. Salmon (1930) but some 30,000 specimens forming the remainder of his private herbarium were deposited at K (1903)"

[David Price]

I agree with Nick. There is no evidence that "R Pryor" is Rebecca Pryor so I have edited the relevant sheets accordingly.

Roger's suggestion is very plausible and I think it would make sense to merge R Pryor with RCA Prior.