from the personal museum of Anna Brassey (1839-1887). Lady Brassey was an avid collector and photographer. She collected the majority of the material while travelling the world in the 1870s and 1880s. The largest number of objects come from the Pacific and Melanesia. Other collections in this area include Ambrose Jones Collection of stone carvings from Costa Rica and the Cullen Collection of artefacts from the Cook Islands and New Guinea. The museum has a large collection of material related to Native North Americans, including objects collected by local writer and sculptor Clare Sheridan on her visit to America in 1937. The Blackmore Collection was bequeathed in 1982 and relates mainly to the Plains Indians. The museum is also home to the large collection of Colin Taylor, including a selection of high-quality items from the Subarctic region. The museum collection relating to Grey Owl, who was born and brought up in Hastings in the early years of the 20th century and adopted a Native American persona. Archaeology The museum's archaeological collection contains artefacts from Hastings and the surrounding area. There is also a small collection of artefacts from other parts of the world. The collection contains material from most British historical periods. There is a large number of flints from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age including those excavated by J Moore in Hastings Country Park. There are also good examples of Egyptian, Greek and Roman pottery from all periods. As well as a few pieces from pre-Columbian South America, New Zealand, Florida, Sweden and Denmark. Numismatics The numismatics collection is representative of coins from the Roman period through the 20th century. There are good examples from Saxon period from Sussex Mints, including Hastings. Tokens are well represented with over 700 local hop tokens and other trade tokens in the collection. The collection also includes commemorative and civic medallions and campaign medals. Natural history The museum's vertebrates collections is mainly focused on birds collected locally in the early 20th century. This includes examples of the Hastings Rarities. There are a few examples of larger mammal and fish also in the collection. The Entomology and Invertebrates collections are limited to butterflies, moths and other insects, shells, corals and sponges. Geology The geology collection consists of plant and animal fossils from the local area, including the collections of Teilhard de Chardin, Philip (James) Rufford and Samuel Beckles. Hastings has long been a