One newspaper article intended as a short presentation of Mr. Horniman and the contribution he made to the educational and cultural life of London and the surrounding region. As the first portrait of a longer series, the article starts from the question: “When a man makes a great fortune, what should he do with it?” In this context, Mr. Horniman’s actions to open the Surrey House and its treasures to the public, as a Museum, is given as a positive example to be followed by other rich men. The estimated worth of the Surrey House Museum was of £200,000 at that time.
The second part of the article draws a brief personal and professional portrait: Mr. Horniman has made his fortune from tea, travelled extensively and collected significant objects from everywhere he went. He was not only an accomplished businessman, but also a man of scientific interests, such as entomology and zoology. As for public functions, Mr. Horniman was expected to serve as Sheriff of London and maybe even take his seat in the House of Commons in Parliament.
The article features 2 photographs printed from originals made by the London Stereoscopic Company. The first one is a standing portrait of F. J. Horniman in winter dress; the second one is the image of one room from the Horniman Museum.
Portrait Gallery of the Munificencies. Mr. Horniman, of Horniman’s Museum
Continue exploring archive
Mrs A's new mud wall, house extensions
Close-up, stitching mat strips, Ossosso
Black and white negative view of ornate church with multiple steeples and trees in front
Letter from Pickfords Removals Ltd. to Richard Pringsheim
Collection Information
These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.
The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.
If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk