Now, where do we begin…

He was Britain’s first naturalist

Before Darwin, certainly before Attenborough, there was Gilbert White (1720 – 1793) – an unassuming Parson with an unrelenting passion for, and curiosity of the natural world. His records of the wildlife, flora and fauna local to his humble Hampshire village became the basis for his ground-breaking book The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (1789).

Oftentimes dismissed as an amateur ‘country-writer’, this was not at all the case. In fact, his contributions to the field of Natural History are impressive – not only did his observations establish the now widely-understood idea of a ‘food-chain’, he also identified and named numerous species including three kinds of leaf-warblers, the harvest-mouse and the noctule bat. Not bad for an ‘amateur’!

It wasn’t all science, science, science for Gilbert though – he cared deeply for the animals he observed, recognising that they have inner lives. His blend of evidence and empathy, science and emotion, is probably his most important and enduring legacy. He certainly made quite an impact on a young Charles Darwin who made a pilgrimage to Selborne before setting off on his famous Beagle voyage in 1831. Even the one and only Sir David Attenborough, national treasure, is a fan! He has described Gilbert as a man ‘in total harmony with his world.’

His book has never been out of print!

There aren’t many writers out there that can make this claim – certainly not after 230 years. Originally published way back in 1789, there have now been over 100 editions of The Natural History of Selborne. It is one of the most published books in the English language, giving Shakespeare and even The Bible a run for their money! Simply put, it’s impressive – very impressive.

Gilbert’s writing style has been admired by poets and writers such as WH Auden, John Clare, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Virginia Woolf. The book was an immediate success, yet it still resonates all these years later. Tristan Sherwood, one of eleven contemporary printmakers and illustrators who have produced new works inspired by the book for our exhibition Drawn to Nature: Gilbert White and the Artists, hits the nail on the head…

If you haven’t already treated yourself to a read of this charming book, hopefully we’re convincing you. It’s currently available at the Pallant House Gallery Bookshop.

His observations inspired generations of artists

From historic artists such as Samuel Hieronymus Grimm and Thomas Bewick, through to modern artists such as Eric Ravilious and contemporary artists and illustrators such as Jo Sweeting and Mark Hearld – Gilbert’s Natural History has inspired them all! In fact, the book is now almost as well-known for its various illustrations as its writing.

Swiss artist Samuel Hieronymus Grimm was first up with his landscape engravings for the first edition. Iconic artists that followed in his footsteps include the founding father of British wood-engraving Thomas Bewick, modernist legends John Nash and Eric Ravilious, and printmakers such as Gertrude Hermes and Clare Oldham. Famously Bewick was drawn to the book’s birds, Nash took a liking to the toad, and Ravilious immortalised the bizarrely hilarious moose in the greenhouse! Each of the artists was inspired in their own unique way, and the same can be said today. For our latest exhibition Drawn to Nature: Gilbert White and the Artists we have commissioned eleven contemporary printmakers and illustrators to create new works inspired by the enduring appeal of Gilbert’s observations.

He had a tortoise named Timothy

The real hero of this story of course is Timothy the tortoise! Originally acquired from a sailor in Chichester, Timothy the tortoise lived with Gilbert’s Aunt Snooke in the town of Ringmer, East Sussex. Following his aunt’s death, Gilbert inherited Timothy in 1780 and so began his time in the limelight! Certainly this little reptile would have been a somewhat unusual sight in 18^th century rural England. Characterful observations of Timothy feature frequently both in the book, and Gilbert’s personal journals…

So popular is Timothy, he has even inspired two books of his own – Sylvia Townsend Warner’s The Portrait of a Tortoise (1946) and Verlyn Klinkenborg’s book, Timothy; or, Notes of an Abject Reptile (2006). Spoiler Alert: according to the Natural History Museum it turns out, he was a she! Following Timothy’s one-way trip to tortoise heaven, she was identified as female. She was a Greek spur-thighed tortoise, and she is immortalised at the Natural History Museum where her shell now resides. You can even explore a 3D scan of Timothy’s shell here.

He basically invented the written kiss

All those x’s you have intentionally left at the end of text messages, or have mistakenly left at the end of more than one work email – well, you have Gilbert White to thank for that! That’s right – as obscure a fact as this may be, the Oxford English Dictionary credits him as the first to use the letter ‘x’ to represent a kiss in a letter written in 1763.

Even by modern day standards, that’s a lot of kisses Gilbert! Not everyone is convinced though – some researchers think it is more likely that the x’s have religious connotations, representing blessings rather than kisses for example. So was Gilbert just feeling particularly blessed that day? We may never know – you’ll have to make up your own mind on this one…