Romer, John Dudley (b 1920)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0814 ZCB
Held at	: Zoological Society of London   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.zsl.org/ ›
Full title	: Romer, John Dudley (b 1920)
Date(s)	: 1938-1981
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: ?
Name of creator(s)	: Romer | John Dudley | b 1920 | herpetologist

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Romer's Tree Frog (Chirixalus romeri) is named after Romer, who first discovered it in a cave on Lamma Island, Hong Kong, in 1952.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of John Dudley Romer, 1938-1981, including:

Herpetological Notebook, 1938-1958: Handwritten notes on JD Romer's published articles, papers and memoranda, plus a crossed-out distribution list for reprints.

General correspondence, 1955-1980: A selection of papers and correspondence on professional and personal matters. Includes items from GM Vevers and J Corney.

A collection of papers mainly relating to the herpetology of Hong Kong, including: a typewritten paper entitled "Notes on the Geckos of Hong Kong"; a series of black and white photographs (plus negatives) showing a Hong Kong landscape with accompanying notes detailing the collection of herpetological specimens; a list of reptile and amphibian specimens in Romer's collection; two colour photographs and accompanying sketch of a turtle (Trionyx steindachneri); Romer's curriculum vitae.

Microscope slides of Siphonaptera, 1875-1976: A series of mounted Siphonaptera specimens, in a wooden box.

Negatives of a marmoset, tamarin and gibbon, and of extended injection instrument, 1975.

Negatives of views of Bristol and Paignton Zoos, 1977.

Black and white negatives of "unusually colored cobras" (Naja naja) in captivity in Hong Kong, dated 21 December 1979 and 12 January 1980.

Black and white negatives of landscape views of Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong, dated 8 December 1979 and 2 December 1980, illustrating herpetofauna habitats.

Black and white negatives of the landscape of Tai Mo Shan and Victoria Peak, Hong Kong, illustrating herpetofauna habitats. Undated, c 1979-1980.

Colour negatives of various views of Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, dated 1975, 6 March 1977, 12 March 1977, 13 March 1977.

Colour negatives of the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, and of Hong Kong from a helicopter, dated April 1975.

Colour negatives of Indian python in captivity, dated 3 January 1976; captive jaguars, dated 17 June 1977; a hatching budgerigar and of a macaque/Celebes ape (Macaca nigra) and baby, dated September 1977; snakes in captivity, and some personal images, dated 25 December 1979.

Colour negatives of the Japan Snake Institute and Ueno Zoo, Tokyo, dated September 1974.

Colour negatives taken in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, of: the mammal house, dated November 1974: lemurs, marmosets, a Celebes ape and an agouti, dated 1975; orangutans, dated May 1978; a hand-reared squirrel monkey and other mammals, dated 25 September 1975.

Black and white negatives of toads (Megophrys brachykolos), dated 18 February 1979.

Colour negatives of views of Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Jakarta and Bogor zoos, dated August 1977.

Black and white and colour photographs, including images of herpetofauna (snakes, turtles and frogs) in captivity and in the wild, as well as views of habitats in Hong Kong, dated 1954-1980.

An album of black and white and colour photographs of various python specimens, dated 1965-1977.

Black and white and colour photographs, mainly of various zoos, including Frankfurt, Berlin, Jersey, Antwerp, Stuttgart, Bristol, Paignton, Thoiry, Ueno (Tokyo) and Singapore, as well as images of herpetological specimens in captivity, dated 1961-1977.

An album of black and white and colour photographs, including images of herpetofauna (snakes, frogs and crocodiles) in captivity and in the wild, as well as various zoo reptile enclosures, including Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Singapore and Chester, dated 1967-1980.

Unmounted colour transparencies of captive snakes. Undated, 1970s.

Mounted colour slides mainly of snake specimens, but also including images of the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens and local landscape, along with some personal images, dated c 1975-1979.

Colour negatives of JD Romer with: a marmoset and with a tamarin in a zoo setting, and of Mrs Ray Romer with an indigo snake, dated 1975; a puma at Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, dated 28 August 1976; a puma and of raccoons at Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, dated 4 September 1976; a puma and with a python, plus images of a python in a terrarium and some personal pictures, dated April 1976; at a desk and of tree frog terraria, undated, c 1973.

Black and white negatives and accompanying proof sheet of a macaque/Celebes ape (Macaca nigra) and baby in Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, dated 1 January 1972; colour negatives of a young jaguar with JD Romer, and of snakes (Rhabdophis subminiatus) in captivity, probably in Hong Kong, dated February to March 1980.

Colour negatives of Mrs Ray Romer with a baby gorilla at Frankfurt Zoo, and views of Antwerp Zoo and Stuttgart Zoo, along with some personal images, dated June to July 1975; Colour negatives of Mrs Ray Romer with a baby gorilla and a baby orangutan at Frankfurt Zoo, along with various views of that zoo and of the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, plus some personal images, dated July 1975.

  Handwritten notes by JD Romer on: Hong Kong chelonians, lizards and amphibians, 1947-1965; Hong Kong amphibians, 1967-1981; Hong Kong chelonians and lizards, 1967-1981; Hong Kong snakes, 1947-1967; Hong Kong snakes, 1967-1981.

British Herpetological Society Notices, 1947-1976: Various correspondence and notices from the British Herpetological Society, dated April 1947 to March 1976.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Conditions governing access:

Available. Please make an appointment in advance of your visit.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Finding aids:

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Donation.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Entry transcribed by Sarah Drewery, April 2011.

Rules or conventions:
General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal Place and Corporate Names 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
April 2011