The British Natural History Society was established in 1848. Unlike other scientific associations at the time, the Society’s purpose was to circulate sets of fossils to its subscribers. Edward Charlesworth, geologist and palaeontologist, was one of the leading figures of the Society.

The main period during which the Society collected and distributed fossils was between 1848 and 1860, and there appear to have been at least 125 subscribers for 25,000 specimens by May 1850. Most of the collecting was carried out in England. There is evidence that Charlesworth collected some shells at Arran and Loch Fyne during a visit in 1850, which he hoped to distribute in the same way as the fossils. During his stay, he noted that many Edinburgh naturalists had joined the Society, and these papers offer are evidence of some subscribers in Glasgow.