Newspaper cutting

Reports of sea serpent sightings fill this scrapbook from the 1800s. The collection of manuscript notes, newspaper cuttings, etc. was brought together by scientist Sir Richard Owen, who was sceptical because no physical evidence of these monsters had ever been found. He suspected that sailors were simply misidentifying seals, whales and other marine creatures, a view that earned Owen the nickname Sea-Serpent Killer.

Scrapbook of materials relating to sea serpents, belonging to Richard Owen, about 1830–1880s.