The Bee Book

Mss.630.4.B43

Date: 1846-1854 | Size: 1 volume(s), 258 p.

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Abstract

John Benbow, Jr., of Cowley Hall Mills, Middlesex, England, was an avid amateur beekeeper in the 1840s and 1850s. His "Bee Book" is a small (16mo) copiously illustrated treatise and journal of beekeeping. Divided into three parts -- "Other people's experiments," "Our own experiments," and an annual log (1846-1854) -- the book includes information on hive construction, seasonal management, the cleaning of hives, and other miscellaneous information culled both from printed sources and personal "experiments." The 44 pen and ink drawings include technical drawings of hives and beekeeping apparatus, along with humorous sketches of the activities of an "amateur apiarian."

Background note

John Benbow, Jr., of Cowley Hall Mills, Middlesex, England, was an avid amateur beekeeper in the 1840s and 1850s.

Scope and content

John Benbow's "Bee Book" is a small (16mo) copiously illustrated treatise and journal of beekeeping, kept by an "amateur apiariast" in early Victorian England. Divided into three parts -- "Other people's experiments," "Our own experiments," and an annual log (1846-1854) -- the Bee Book includes information on hive construction, seasonal management, the cleaning of hives, and other miscellaneous information culled both from printed sources and personal "experiments."

Benbow jokingly records that his expenditures and pains (sometimes literal) resulted in no profits at all despite the increasing scope of his activities, but he notes proudly that he had introduced several innovations in hive design. The volume is enlivened with 44 illustrations that include technical drawings of hives and beekeeping apparatus, along with humorous sketches of the trials and tribulations of an "amateur apiarian." Three of these sketches, apparently unfinished, are in pencil, the rest in pen and ink.

Digital objects note

This collection contains digital materials that are available in the APS Digital Library. Links to these materials are provided with context in the inventory of this finding aid. A general listing of digital objects may also be found here.

Collection Information

Provenance

Acquired from Bimelson, March 23, 1970 (accn. no. 1970-559ms).

Preferred citation

Cite as: John Benbow, The Bee Book, American Philosophical Society.

Processing information

Recatalogued by rsc, 2003.

Related material

In addition to a number of 19th century books on bee keeping, the APS Library houses the papers of the American apiarist Lorenzo L. Langstroth, 1885-1895 (call no. B L265).

Early American History Note

The "Bee Book" is a small, pocket-sized notebook kept by John Benbow, an amateur beekeeper. The journal is handwritten and has extensive and detailed sketches of beehives and beekeeping. The 250 page volume details beekeeping practices, customs, and stories. It contains a log of Benbow's practice from 1846-1854. The book is intended to be not only a guide to beekeeping, but also a source of entertainment and is filled with amusing anecdotes and sketches.

Indexing Terms

Genre(s)

Art
Diaries
Manuscript Essays
Pen works
Sketchbooks

Subject(s)

Bee culture -- Great Britain
Beyond Early America

Detailed Inventory


Index of illustrations		Request Series for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Series
Bee Book, cover.		Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
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Bee hive	p. 0	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
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"Wooden hives or boxes"	p. 2	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Floor boards"	p. 6	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Collateral hives and boxes"	p. 9	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Ventilators and thermometers"	p. 19	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"The Oxford apparatus for fuming"	p. 40	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Wooden screen	p. 44	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Taylor's collateral hive -- after Nutt," plan view	p. 62	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Taylor's collateral hive -- after Nutt, Front elevation"	p. 63	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Taylor's collateral hive -- after Nutt, End"	p. 64	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Taylor's collateral hive -- after Nutt, Separated plan"	p. 65	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Bottom of hive	p. 70	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Top of hive	p. 74	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Separated plan"	p. 75	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Improved White's hive	p. 77	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Benbow's single-entrance doubling board, Floor Board, Plate 1"	p. 81	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Benbow's single-entrance doubling board, Plate 2, Winter position"	p. 82	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Benbow's single-entrance doubling board, Plate 3, Summer position"	p. 83	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"The swarm"	p. 99	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Common cottage hive and Eke"	p. 100	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
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"Hiving a swarm"	p. 108	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Swarm taking to hive"	p. 111	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Amateur observes the habits of his bees minutely -- and gets stung"	p. 116	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Potrait of a bee-keeper whose friends just begin to recognize his features"	p. 119	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"The amateur surveys his bees at a more convenient distance and under more agreeable circumstances"	p. 121	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Hive clusters -- prudent apiarian sets Miss Smith to watch, duly provided with shovel and tongs"	p. 123	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"A swarm rises -- and is treated to the usual 'musical honours'"	p. 125	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
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"Apiarian attempts to attack an eke and makes a mess of it!"	p. 137	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"The improved apiary	p. 141	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Tray	p. 142	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Apiarian being about to commence an operation requisitions great steadiness and coolness, desires his assistants to quaff a draught of beer each previously..."	p. 143	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Strange appearance of the hive after the operator has fitted his wooden frame!"	p. 145	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
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"Grotesque and unwieldy figure when put to rights"	p. 146	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Great astonishment of the 'experienced' Apiarian on seeing his friend's hive"	p. 150	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Smith suggests a novel method of taking wasps nests which infests the hives -- apiarian assists in some alarm"	p. 154	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Smith, after 'further experiments,' has been missing towards evening he is discovered rolling and groaning in a ditch, still assailed by his tormentors"	p. 159	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Smith declares himself heartily sick of the job -- and begs to resign his appointment"	p. 165	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Portrait of our new assistance (Mr. Conner"	p. 169	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Startling alteration in Conner's facial anatomy in the morn after his initiation in the mysteries of bee-management"	p. 171	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Consummate self-possession of the apiarian under trying circumstances"	p. 175	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Incomplete sketch	p. 181	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Plate showing the swarms from our single hive, 1848"	p. 193	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
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"Benbow's collateral box on single-entrance doubling board," pencil sketch	p. 228	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
"Benbow's double board, single entrance," pencil sketch	p. 229	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item