James Sowerby

Portrait of James Sowerby from his Wikipedia entry

As already noted, the Wombwell menagerie attracted the attention of all types of people, and it is of no surprise that the Sowerby family with their interest in the natural world would have made contact with the Wombwell family. 

James Sowerby (1757 –1822) was an English naturalist and illustrator who spent much of his life engaged on two quite colossal projects, one a 36 volume study of the botany of Britain, and the second a 7 volume work on the mineral conchology of Britain. His descendants were to carry on his work, which hardly surprisingly, he was unable to complete in his lifetime.