Credit: ©The Royal Society
    Image number: RS.19071

    Portrait of John Ray

    Date
    late 17th century
    Sitter
    John Ray (1627 - 1705, English) , Naturalist
    Creator
    William Elder (British) , Engraver
    After
    William Faithorne (1620 - 1691, British) , Engraver
    Object type
    Archive reference number
    Material
    Technique
    Dimensions
    height (print): 175mm
    width (print): 105mm
    Subject
    Description
    Half-length portrait of John Ray, regarding the viewer, body turned to the right as viewed. Ray is shown wearing a wig, with a loosely draped cloak and square collar. Presented in an oval wreath, with a decorative scrollwork panel below.

    Plate from a grangerized copy of A history of the Royal Society, with memoirs of the Presidents…by Charles Richard Weld (London, John W. Parker, 1848). In this edition, the original two volumes were extended to eight volumes with the addition of extra-illustrations and documents, by Alexander Meyrick Broadley.

    The print appears at p.191 in volume 2 of the adapted set of Weld’s History.

    Inscribed below: ‘Joannes Rajus Societatis Regiae Socius. W: Faithorne pinx: W: Elder Sculp:’.

    John Ray [formerly Wray] (1627-1705), British naturalist and theologian was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1667.
    Object history
    Print from Charles Richard Weld's 2 volume A history of the Royal Society... (London, John W. Parker, 1848) grangerized by the writer and collector Alexander Meyrick Broadley (1847–1916) into 8 volumes, adding illustrative material and manuscript items to Weld's text. The books were initially owned by Ludwig Mond FRS (1839–1909), and according to an inscription by his son Robert Ludwig Mond FRS (1867–1938) they were intended for presentation to the Society. This eventually happened in late 1959, the donor being the politician Harry Nathan (1889–1963), Lord Nathan of Churt.
    Related fellows
    Charles Richard Weld (1813 - 1869, British) , Author
    Associated place
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