| Date Note | Models referred to in: GSL/COM/P/4/2/199, known activity of Larkin |
| Administrative History | Nathaniel John Larkin was born in London, 5 December, 1781. At the age of nineteen he went to the Orkney islands, to establish a straw-plat manufactory, which he superintended for some years. He subsequently returned to London, and became noted for his models of crystals, illustrating Hauy's 'Traite de Mineralogie', and likewise the views of Dr Wollaston, Professors Mohs and Jameson, and other writers of scientific eminence. He constructed a cube of spherical molecules, uniform with the tetrahedron and octahedron of Dr Wollaston, from whom he received much friendly encouragement and assistance. He also arranged a very complete and comprehensive set of Geometrical Solids, and published three books in explanation of them, the most important of which was his 'Introduction to Solid Geometry, and to the Study of Crystallography' a work which appeared in the year 1820. He was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society in 1816, to the President (G B Greenough, Esq) and other members of which he dedicated his book. He died on the 21st of October, 1855, being in the 74th year of his age.
The models were presented to the Society directly as a result of Greenough's negative response as referee to Thomas Sopwith's paper on geological models [published as: Sopwith, T. "On the illustration of geological phaenomena", 'Proceedings of the Geological Society of London', vol 3 (1841) p351.] Greenough believed he had already proved the efficacy of using models to explain geological phenomena by his commissioning of the fault models from Larkin. |
| Publication Note | Farey, J. 'General view of the agriculture and minerals of Derbyshire; with observations on the means of their improvement', 1811; Turner, S & W R Dearman. "Models illustrating John Farey's figures of stratified masses", 'Proceedings of the Geologists' Association', vol 94 (1983), pp97-104. |