Abstract
Henry Ward, of Ward’s Natural Science Establishment, Rochester, N.Y., U.S.A., visited Auckland in March 1881 (and again in November 1896) where he met Thomas Cheeseman, curator of Auckland Museum. The two men formed a professional friendship and corresponded for 27 years. During this time they arranged a series of exchanges of natural history specimens, despite Auckland Museum being only a minor customer of Ward’s because it had little material to exchange and small budgets for purchase.
From Cheeseman, Ward obtained bird specimens (especially kiwi Apteryx), ethnographic items, kauri gum and volumes of Transactions of the New Zealand Institute. Ward sent Cheeseman casts of ‘celebrated fossils’ and of the Rosetta Stone, articulated skeletons of a human and an ostrich, Blaschka glass models, mineral specimens, a lungfish and a giant salamander. After his first visit, Ward sent in succession two preparators from his establishment who worked for Auckland Museum preparing specimens for display.
This and the supply of glass eyes (for taxidermy) and display labels were important ways in which Ward’s gave logistical support to a small colonial museum. The correspondence between Cheeseman and Ward, archived in Auckland Museum’s manuscripts collections and the Rush Rhees Library (University of Rochester), was studied to develop this account of how the two men interacted and what they were able to achieve.