Frances Elizabeth Tripp (1 August 1832 – 26 December 1890) was a British bryologist, botanical illustrator,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

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.

Biography

Frances Elizabeth Tripp was born on 1 August 1832 and was christened at

St Sidwells St Sidwell's is an area east of Exeter city centre in the ward of Newtown, Exeter, Newtown. Formerly a village in its own right, St Sidwells grew in importance along with Exeter thanks to its location on the main cart track between Exeter and th ...

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, 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 Bodmin Moor ( kw, Goon Brenn) is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough Tor, a s ...

. 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). After inheriting a considerable amount of money from her grandmother, Tripp pursued scientific research and charitable causes. She raised money to support the cause of

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

, supported the

Kyrle Society Miranda Hill (Wisbech 1836–1910) was an English social reformer. Biography Hill was a daughter of James Hill (died 1872), a corn merchant, banker and follower of Robert Owen, and his third wife, Caroline Southwood Smith (1809–1902), ...

and was involved in the early establishment of National Trust. In later life she moved to London, where she died on 26 December 1890 following a heart attack.

''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. The work ran to three editions: 1868; 1874; 1888. 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". It was also reviewed in '' Nature'' which described its style as "highly poetical" and tending to "dryness" in later passages.

Gallery

File:British mosses, their homes, aspects, structure, and uses - with a figure of each species etched from nature (IA b28058720).pdf, Cover, 1874 edition File:British mosses, their homes, aspects, structure and uses. With a coloured figure of each species etched from nature (1874) (19797411983).jpg File:British mosses, their homes, aspects, structure and uses. With a coloured figure of each species etched from nature (1874) (20230335048).jpg File:British mosses, their homes, aspects, structure and uses. With a coloured figure of each species etched from nature (1874) (20392094336).jpg File:British mosses, their homes, aspects, structure and uses. With a coloured figure of each species etched from nature (1874) (20418344115).jpg File:British mosses, their homes, aspects, structure and uses. With a coloured figure of each species etched from nature (1874) (20418312455).jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tripp, Frances 1832 births 1890 deaths Bryologists Women bryologists British botanists Botanists active in Europe People from Cornwall Botanical illustrators British women writers British illustrators