Theodoor Gerard Van Lith de Jeude

Van Lith de Jeude was a classic example of a nineteenth-century collector-biologist. He was director of the Veterinary College in Utrecht and in addition was professor of comparative anatomy and zoology at the University. That means that he was concerned with the comparison of the skeletons of different species of animals. The professor was not very keen on giving lectures and much preferred to build a collection of zoological specimens. He made many of the specimens himself. Of course, the curiosities were indispensable to his collection. One of the most striking specimens of this kind is a double calf's head. This specimen of a congenital defect was a source for serious research and hence typical of nineteenth-century biology.