STEVENS, Samuel

Brother of Samuel Crace Stevens who founded the King Street auctioneering firm and who he joined in partnership after failing to become an artist. In 1848, however, he retired to set up the Natural History Agency which subsequently became the means by which many big collections were distributed including those of Bates and Wallace. After his brother died Stevens returned to the auction house for a while to assist his nephews to learn the business. He spent the last years of his life at his house in Upper Norwood working on horticulture and collecting water-colours, as well as continuing work on his insects. Stevens’s entomological interests were primarily those of a collector rather than a scientist although he did publish a series of short notes in various entomological periodicals from 1840 until 1896. The majority were on Lepidoptera,of which his collection was the one of the finest of his generation and caused a great stir when it was sold at auction because of the high prices fetched, but some fifteen were devoted to Coleoptera. His beetle collection was purchased after his death by Philip Mason and is now housed at Bolton. Stevens was one of the original Fellows of the ESL being elected on 6 November 1837, (Treasurer 1853-73, Vice President 1885) There is a letter to R. McLachlan dated 9 September 1871 in the RESL (Pedersen (2002) p.96). FLS from 1850. There are obituaries in EMM., 35, 1899, pp.238-239; Ent., 32, 1899, 264 ; ERJV., 11, 1899, p.308; and Proc.ESL.1899, pp.xxxv-xxxvii. (MD 11/04)