Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society
These historical transactions, only available online through the Lyell Collection, give a flavour of the themes and ideas occupying the minds of the amateur geologists of the times. Published between 1868 and 1963 the Transactions cover almost 100 years with over 800 articles that record the views of a diverse group and the countries they visited in pursuit of their interests. Articles are included from key figures such as Sir Roderick Murchison, Patron of the Society, who wrote about his observations on the structure of the North West Highlands; Charles W Peach, naturalist, who described fossil plants found in old red sandstone across Scotland and his son ; Benjamin Neeve Peach who famously partnered John Horne in surveying the southern uplands and the north-west highlands of Scotland for the Geological Survey and Dame Maria Ogilvie Gordon the first woman to receive a Doctor of Science in Geology (1893), who in 1903 published papers from her work on the Tyrol, which showed her valuable contribution to the advancement of structural geology and palaeontology in the Alps.
Complete print sets of the Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society are now rare but these online versions, captured to the highest electronic standards, are now available via the Geological Society of London’s Lyell Collection for the first time. They are fascinating reading for geologists and scholars of the history of geology and many of the articles form the basis of our knowledge today.