Emily Mary Bowdler Sharpe

Emily Mary Sharpe - entomologist 

Emily Mary Bowdler Sharpe was the first women to first author a paper in Proceedings of the Zoological Society. Paving a way for women in science, look back at illustrations from her book -  A monograph of the genus Teracolus. 

Emily Sharpe’s first authored paper is featured in the open access virtual issue of Journal of Zoology on women and zoology, it is titled Descriptions of New Butterflies collected by Mr. F. J. Jackson, F.Z.S., in British East Africa, during his recent Expedition.—Part I.

She had several papers published in our Proceedings between 1891 and 1900 (now continued as Journal of Zoology).

As John Bielby states in his editorial for a Journal of Zoology Virtual issue

"Although the specimens were collected by a man, in the 19th Century it became increasingly common for women to describe the specimens, thereby doing the actual science."

She mounted insects and handled sales of insect collections, charging commission. Looking at her papers in our Proceedings she described species from several different people collecting around the world.

She was attached to the Setting Room (Insect Section of the Zoology Department) at the British Museum (Natural History) from 1905 or possibly earlier, where she was employed on a piece-work basis as well as dealing with private commissions. She was not employed in a salaried post at the Museum. 

She was one of the 10 daughters of ZSL’s first Librarian, Richard Bowdler Sharpe who was instrumental in encouraging women to work in zoology.  Emily Mary Bowdler Sharpe is also sometimes referred to as Emily Mary Sharpe. Her sisters worked as valued colourists in many of the illustrated natural history books of the nineteenth century. It was essential for the colouring to be correct, particularly for identification of bird species. The accuracy of their work was appreciated by the artists of the original drawings from which prints were made.

All the illustrations on this page are by Maud Horman-Fisher. She illustrated many of the papers in our Proceedings authored by Emily Mary Bowdler Sharpe.

Further reading:

Journal of Zoology virtual issue on women and zoology, including the paper first authored by a woman in PZS,  Descriptions of New Butterflies collected by Mr. F. J. Jackson, F.Z.S., in British East Africa, during his recent Expedition.—Part I.  March 1891,  Proceedings of the Zoological Society  Vol. 59 Issue 2, pages 187 -194.

A monograph of the genus Teracolus / by Emily Mary Bowdler Sharpe, London : Reeve, 1898[-1902] (Monographiae entomologicae ; 1)

Richard Bowdler Sharpe and his ten daughters / by Christine E. Jackson in Archives of Natural History, 1994, Volume 21, Issue 3, Pages 261-269, ISSN 0260-9541