About

Notes from Beyond the Edges of the Map

My great uncle, Bertram Thomason Stone—known to the family simply as Uncle Bertie—was a naturalist.

He travelled widely, often alone, and for reasons he rarely explained. What remains of his life is preserved not in official records, but in a series of journals: field notes, sketches, specimen lists, and personal reflections written during expeditions to distant and unfamiliar lands. Some entries are meticulous and restrained; others wander into accounts of flora and fauna that resist easy classification.

These journals were not kept together.

Over time, they became scattered—misfiled, misplaced, concealed among effects whose significance was not immediately obvious. What I have found so far exists in fragments: partial accounts, interrupted journeys, observations that end abruptly and resume elsewhere, sometimes years later, sometimes with no clear indication of where—or when— Uncle Bertie had been.

This blog serves as an archive.

As the journals are recovered and assembled, I will release Uncle Bertie’s accounts here—either in parts or, when possible, as complete expeditions. Some entries stand alone; others form longer journeys, revealed gradually as missing sections come to light. Together, they document a world viewed through a particular lens: one shaped by curiosity, careful observation, and a willingness to record what was encountered, regardless of how improbable it might seem.

These writings belong to a tradition that valued wonder alongside measurement, at a time when maps still ended abruptly and stories often travelled ahead of proof. They are presented as they were found, with minimal correction and no attempt to reconcile contradictions.

Whether Uncle Bertie was recording undiscovered truths, misunderstood phenomena, or something else entirely is left to the reader.

I am merely the archivist.