Geological specimen
Date
1837
Creator
John Frederick William Herschel (1792 - 1871, British) , Astronomer
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Dimensions
height (print): 252mm
width (print): 205mm
width (print): 205mm
Subject
Description
Rough sketch of geological specimen found in the Cape Flats near Cape Town, South Africa.
The drawing appears in a letter from John Herschel to William Buckland, November 1837, discussing, among other topics, the difficulties of finding fossils in South Africa. The author states that: ‘There is a singular formation of inclurated sand, in some parts of the ‘Cape Flats’…this sketch may give some rude idea. The cylindrical or cylindroidal channels are plugged with moderately compact solid masses which loosen & admit of being drawn out…they do not appear to be organic…I cannot help suspecting that the wind may have had something to do with their formation’.
Sir John Frederick William Herschel, first baronet (1792-1871), mathematician and astronomer, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1813.
The drawing appears in a letter from John Herschel to William Buckland, November 1837, discussing, among other topics, the difficulties of finding fossils in South Africa. The author states that: ‘There is a singular formation of inclurated sand, in some parts of the ‘Cape Flats’…this sketch may give some rude idea. The cylindrical or cylindroidal channels are plugged with moderately compact solid masses which loosen & admit of being drawn out…they do not appear to be organic…I cannot help suspecting that the wind may have had something to do with their formation’.
Sir John Frederick William Herschel, first baronet (1792-1871), mathematician and astronomer, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1813.
Associated place