TAYLOR, John Kidson

Lived in Manchester, later moving to Buxton. He published the first of 21 notes and articles, ‘Coleoptera at Barmouth etc.’, in EMM.,4, 1869, p.210. Later articles included the capture of Cryptocephalus querceti at Sherwood, Otiorrhynchus morio at Lochinver and Meloe brevicollis in Miller’s Dale. There is an obituary by R.Standen in Lancashire and Cheshire Naturalist, 15(1), Aug-Sep.1922, pp.34-36, which I have not seen. His obituary in EMM., 59, 1923, p.21 contains little information except that he was keen on both Conchology and Ornithology as well as beetles. He is mentioned in the Gorham diary at Birmingham. The EMM obituary cited above states that his ‘first collection’ was acquired by J. Sidebotham and his second was bequeathed to the Manchester Museum, and this is confirmed by Johnson (2004) who states that it includes 16,000 specimens. Hancock and Pettit (1981) mention that it was acquired via R.Standen and that it was originally housed in 90 small storeboxes and was ‘distinctively’ mounted with colour codes for localities. A collection of his books is also at Manchester and includes several marked up catalogues of the British fauna as follows: Beare and Donisthorpe (1904), inscribed ‘Record of Coleoptera captured at Sherwood Forest from 1903 by myself’; two further copies inscribed ‘Home List’, and a fourth inscribed ‘Desiderata’ (marked up both with what he had and what he wanted); Sharp and Fowler (1893) showing what he had; and 7 copies of Bennett (1893), one listing Sherwood captures since 1903, and one, previously the property of James H.Keys, titled ‘Desiderata’. A further 5 ms volumes record the names and addresses of Coleopterists who sent species to him with numbers and dates starting from 1 on 12 April 1902. (MD 12/04)