Talk:Edward Hobson (botanist)

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Was he a Weaver or a Grocer's assistant?

I found this reference to Hobson at Chethams that says he was a Grocer's assistant. Any thoughts on this Sitush ? https://library.chethams.com/collections/101-treasures-of-chethams/hobsons-musci-britannici/ Richerman (talk) 23:37, 16 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, found the answer [here] where there is a lot more about his life. Looks like I'll have to do some editing after a break of a few years. Richerman (talk) 23:52, 16 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Richerman Anne Secord seems to have made a specialism of studying these botanists. She was writing a book about them but I've no idea if it has been published: the worldwide dreaded lurgy may have slowed its progress. One for my Xmas present list, although which Xmas is uncertain.

Chethams seems a strange place to dig up information on Hobson! Did he do a study regarding the suitability of reeds of Chat Moss for use in oboes, clarinets etc?! - Sitush (talk) 02:54, 17 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Ha,ha, as I'm sure you know, although Chethams is now a music school it has a very old library with lots of very old books on all sorts of subjects. As you say, there is lots of stuff by Anne Secord on the botanists, she does seem to be the go to authority on the subject. Out of interest, I was talking to a lady yesterday who took a a botany degree at Manchester in the 1950s and she was surprised that they were never told about the Lancashire Artisan Botanists. They seem to have been completely forgotten about and only to have become appreciated again through the work of local amateur historians and the advent of the world wide web. Richerman (talk) 17:14, 17 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Richerman I think it probably ties in with the "subaltern studies" movement in history. Until E P Thompson produced his seminal history of the English working classes, the activities of the hoi polloi were generally disregarded by historians of the UK unless those activities directly and significantly affected the toffs.- Sitush (talk) 13:47, 18 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]