| The Falconer Museum’s collection of Hugh Falconer’s letters are mostly concerned with aspects of his scientific research and thought. But a number of the most remarkable letters in the collection concern Falconer’s time in India (beginning in 1829) when he writes with vivid frankness revealing “…the pressures and strains of remote postings under an insensitive bureaucracy.” The letters were most likely donated to the Museum by Falconer’s niece, Lady Grace Prestwich. It was Lady Prestwich who organized the collection and prepared typescripts of some of the letters, possibly in preparation for a biography of Falconer which remained incomplete at the time of her death. 
Hugh Falconer Letters on display in the Falconer Room |
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| A disclaimer: the Victorian period was a time of exploration, discovery and the inevitable collision of Western values with ancient cultures. Hugh Falconer’s letters are an accurate reflection of the man and the times he lived in. Many passages may not be considered as “politically correct” as similar letters from our own era might be, however their value as historical records and a window into a past era speaks for itself. The views expressed in Hugh Falconer’s letters are strictly his own and do not reflect the views of the Moray Council Museums Service and the Friends of the Falconer Museum. | |
PDFs of the letters can be viewed by clicking on the following links:-
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An Example of Hugh Falconers Handwriting Original letter 1843 – example
Letter from H. Falconer to his father, written from his camp “…near Muzaffarabad between Cashmeer and the Indus. Sept. 17, 1837”
Falconer 316_Sept _17_1837_p1and2
Falconer 316_Sept _17_1837_p4example
Letter from H. Falconer to his father and mother,“…Cashmeer, Feb. 15th, 1838”
Letters from H. Falconer to J. Prestwich