Anning was “sick of fossils” letter reveals
Palaeontologist Mary Anning was reportedly “sick of fossils,” she revealed in a letter. Anning’s work early in the 19th Century played a part in our understanding of the planet’s natural history, though she was never fully credited for her discoveries, due to her social status as well as the fact that she was a woman.
Lyme Regis Museum hopes to raise £10,000 to bid on the letter at an upcoming Bonham’s Auction, hoping to keep it in her hometown. Dr Paul Davis, the museum’s geology curator, said that the “unusual” item offers a “real glimpse of her thoughts and feelings.”
“Basically she’s saying ‘I’m so worn out, I’m fed up of dealing with customers and I’m fed up with fossils’ which is remarkable really,” he told the BBC.
Anning, who was played in a 2020 film by Kate Winslet, lived in Lyme Regis near to what we now call the Jurassic Coast. She began looking for fossils along the coastline as a child, becoming the first person to discover a complete plesiosaur in 1823.
The letter is a fragment, made up of the last six lines, and is signed “Gratefully yours Mary Anning.” She writes that she is “worn out after you saw me that I almost wish’d that I might never see a Lady again and the name of fossils makes me sick with its concominants.” The intended recipient of the letter is not known.
The museum has raised over £3,500 so far.
Image: Matt Brown
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