Collection
Natural History
PEM’s historic natural history collection is rooted in scientific curiosity and supports evolving our engagement with nature and forging a new relationship with the planet.
A deep-seated curiosity about our living world and a drive to document and study the nature of Essex County are at the heart of PEM’s natural history collection.
With regional holdings of plants, animals and geology complemented by a selection of historically important specimens from around the world, these holdings now serve to help the museum establish a sense of place in which human beings are presented as part of nature, not separate from it.
Engagement with nature has been a part of the museum since its origins in 1799, with “natural curiosities” donated by the museum’s founding sea captains among the first objects to enter the collection. PEM’s oldest specimens include a giant clam found in Sumatra, an ostrich egg from the Cape of Good Hope and a coco de mer nut from the Seychelles. Other specimens followed, including the first penguin exhibited in North America — its elongated neck suggesting the taxidermist was unfamiliar with this marine bird — and a rooster from Southeast Asia’s Malay Peninsula, later recorded as the ancestor of the Rhode Island Red.
The natural history collections expanded further with the creation of the Peabody Academy of Science in 1867. Over the next 20 years, the academy became an internationally recognized center for natural science research. It was one of the first American institutions to accept Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Essex County has been described as the best-documented area of its size in the United States, supported by the museum’s significant collections of local birds, insects, plants and geological specimens. The founding of the Essex County Ornithological Club in 1916, in partnership with the museum, undoubtedly contributed to the prominence of this collection.
In 2003, as part of the museum’s expansion, PEM inaugurated the Art & Nature Center with the support of benefactors Dorothy Addams Brown, Albert and Hilary Creighton and other generous patrons. Temporary exhibitions have featured works by contemporary artists and included topics ranging from water as art to bioinspired design to tackling climate change. Museum acquisitions and recent commissions such as Laura Kathrein’s iEmbody Nature site-specific movement videos, Wes Bruce’s temporary installation Where The Questions Live: An Exploration of Humans in Nature and Patrick Dougherty’s ephemeral outdoor Stickwork sculpture highlight PEM’s ongoing commitment to presenting nature-related issues and projects, both within and beyond the museum’s walls.
Highlights from this collection
ON VIEW
King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), Collected live on the Falkland Islands, about 1820
On view in Salem Stories.
ON VIEW
Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Collected live off Rockport, Massachusetts, 1885
On view in Salem Stories.
ON VIEW
Ostrich (Struthio camelus) egg, Collected on the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, before 1800
On view in Salem Stories.
ON VIEW
Coco de mer (Lodoicea maldivica) nut, Collected on or near the Seychelles, about 1800
On view in Salem Stories.
King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), Collected live on the Falkland Islands, about 1820
King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), Collected live on the Falkland Islands, about 1820. Gift of Captain George Hodges, 1821. EIMS1219.1.
On view in Salem Stories.
Red Malay rooster (Gallus gallus domesticus), Collected live on the Malay Peninsula, about 1846
Red Malay rooster (Gallus gallus domesticus), Collected live on the Malay Peninsula, about 1846, brought to Salem and bred to local hens by George Wheatland Jr., Gift of George Wheatland, 1846. NB852.
Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Collected live off Rockport, Massachusetts, 1885
Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Collected live off Rockport, Massachusetts, 1885. Gift of Mr. Parsons, 1885. FIC2021.929.1.
On view in Salem Stories.
On view in Salem Stories.
American bison, bull. Collected at Porcupine Creek, Dawson County, Montana, by the Smithsonian Institution, 1886
American bison, bull, Collected at Porcupine Creek, Dawson County, Montana, by the Smithsonian Institution, 1886. Gift of William Crowninshield Endicott, 1887. NM294.
Zoological illustration of a newly discovered species of toad, 1858
Augustus Fowler, Zoological illustration of a newly discovered species of toad from three angles, later named Fowler’s toad (Anaxyrus fowleri) in honor of naturalist Samuel Fowler, who first described the species, 1858. Watercolor on paper. Museum collection, after 1858. NH130.
Marginal wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis), collected in Chebacco Woods, Swampscott, Massachusetts, 1865
Authoritative “holotype” specimen of the Marginal wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis), collected in Chebacco Woods, Swampscott, Massachusetts, by John Robinson, 1865. Gift of John Robinson, after 1865. NHH1.410.
Insect teaching chart for the Peabody Academy of Science’s Summer School of Biology, Salem, about 1876
James Henry Emerton (1847–1931, Salem, Massachusetts), Insect teaching chart for the Peabody Academy of Science’s Summer School of Biology, Salem, about 1876. Paint on canvas. Gift of Dr. Ralph W. Dexter, 1981. NH310.
Pintail decoy, about 1920
Joseph W. Lincoln (1859–1938, United States), Pintail decoy, about 1920. Wood, paint, metal, and glass. Museum purchase, made possible by the Special Fund for Natural History, 1992. NHDP1.
On view in The Pod.
Decorative carving of a semipalmated sandpiper, about 1915
A. Elmer Crowell (1862–1952, United States), Decorative carving of a semipalmated sandpiper, about 1915. Wood, paint, glass, oyster shell, and metal. Gift of Arthur C. Phillips, 1978. NHDSB24.
On view in The Pod.
Ostrich (Struthio camelus) egg, Collected on the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, before 1800
Ostrich (Struthio camelus) egg, Collected on the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, before 1800. Gift of Captain Benjamin Carpenter, 1800 - 1802. EIMS502.
On view in Salem Stories.
Coco de mer (Lodoicea maldivica) nut, Collected on or near the Seychelles, about 1800
Coco de mer (Lodoicea maldivica) nut, Collected on or near the Seychelles, about 1800. Probably gift of Captain Samuel Lambert, 1800–1802. EIMS482.
On view in Salem Stories.
Loans and acquisitions
PEM is committed to providing the broadest possible access to its collection through the loan of objects for educational and scholarly purposes. Learn how to request a loan from the museum’s collection.
Keep exploring
Exhibition
The Pod
Ongoing
Art
The Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center
The Pod
iEmbody Project
The Pod