Frances Elizabeth Tripp

Frances Elizabeth Tripp (1 August 1832 – 26 December 1890) was a British bryologist, botanical illustrator, philanthropist and writer. She is best known for her two volume work British Mosses, their homes, aspects, structures and uses, which was first published in 1868 and ran to three editions.

Frances Elizabeth Tripp
Fanny Tripp, c. 1860
Born(1832-08-01)1 August 1832
Died26 December 1890(1890-12-26) (aged 58)
London
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Botanist; philanthropist
Notable workBritish mosses, their homes, aspects, structure and uses

Biography

Frances Elizabeth Tripp was born on 1 August 1832 and was christened at St Sidwells, Exeter, Devon. Her father was the Reverend Robert Henry Tripp, and her mother was Elizabeth Ann; her parents were first cousins. Her father was vicar of Altarnun in Cornwall, close to Bodmin Moor. Frances had seven younger siblings: five brothers – Reverend Robert Henry (1835–1904), Reverend George (1837–1896), John Chilcott (1838–1839), Charles Upton (1841–1912), William Blomefield (1843–1919, who became a civil engineer); two sisters – Emma Mary (1834–1835), and Emma Mary (the second, 1845–1902).[1]

After inheriting a considerable amount of money from her grandmother, Tripp pursued scientific research and charitable causes.[1] She raised money to support the cause of Italian unification, supported the Kyrle Society and was involved in the early establishment of National Trust.[1] In later life she moved to London,[2] where she died on 26 December 1890 following a heart attack.[1]

British Mosses

Tripp's work British Mosses was written as a popular scientific volume which she also illustrated, by etching copper plates which were then coloured by Benjamin Fawcett.[3] The work ran to three editions: 1868;[4] 1874;[5] 1888.[6] On the publication on its third edition, the two-volume work was described in Sotheran's Guide as: "to read, to ponder, to mark, to learn and inwardly digest".[7] It was also reviewed in Nature which described its style as "highly poetical" and tending to "dryness" in later passages.[6]

  • Cover, 1874 edition
    Cover, 1874 edition

References
  1. Lawley, Mark (October 2010). "Frances Elizabeth Tripp (1832–1890)" (PDF). Field Bryology. 102: 50–51.
  2. Mayo, Isabella Fyvie (1910). Recollections of what I saw, what I lived through, and what I learned, during more than fifty years of social and literary experience. Boston Public Library. London, J. Murray. pp. 178–80.
  3. A social and biographical history of British and Irish field-bryologists. "From the time that the Tr". yumpu.com. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  4. "British mosses, their homes, aspects, structure, and uses". Wellcome Library. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  5. Tripp, Frances Elizabeth (1874). British mosses, their homes, aspects, structure and uses : with a coloured figure of each species etched from nature. Vol. 1. London: George Bell and Sons.
  6. "British Mosses". Nature. 39 (1010): 434–435. 1889. Bibcode:1889Natur..39..434.. doi:10.1038/039434a0. ISSN 1476-4687. S2CID 4131475.
  7. Ltd, Henry Sotheran (1889). Sotheran's Price Current of Literature.
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