Collecting women in geology : opening the international case of a Scottish 'cabinétière', Eliza Gordon Cumming (c. 1798–1842)

Abstract

The double meanings of ‘case’ in the subtitle pinpoint the dual investigations of this chapter. It first puts the case for better understanding of women's contributions to ‘serious’ geology in international, as well as national, contexts by overtly collecting British women collectors in the field who contributed to French geological knowledge. It can then unpack the pivotal importance of women's geology collections and women collectors ‘at home’ in the establishment of new global subfields of geological work in the 1840s, despite more famous names being given national and international recognition for key discoveries. Our examination of the geology case in point – the collection and its expert collector, Lady Eliza Gordon Cumming – discloses her international geological expertise but also longer transnational heritage of women's scientific collecting practice. By proposing the French term ‘cabinétière’ to name its clearer status, this chapter investigates the implications of serious retrospective relabelling for geology when a woman discoverer-collector is restored and reconnected to her world collections.