Sometimes the treatment performed on an item is minimal but the item being treated is fascinating! This was the case with this recently acquired letter from State Assemblyman Theodore Roosevelt to the prominent ornithologist Elliott Coues. The letter, dated April 21, 1882, outlines Roosevelt’s interest in shrews and his desire to donate his collection of shrew skins to the Smithsonian. Continue reading
The second Sunday in March is Buzzard Day. The Libraries' Galaxy of Images makes it easy to celebrate, wth two wonderful plates by Mark Catesby and François-Nicolas Martinet featuring buzzards.
Mark Catesby, The natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama islands: containing the figures of birds, beasts, fishes, serpents, insects, and plants, 1731-43 [1729-48], The Turkey Buzzard.
François-Nicolas Martinet, Ornithologie [Histoire des Oiseaux Peints dans Tous Leurs Aspects Apparents et Sensibles] [Ornithology], 1773-1792, Plate 133: The Buzzard.
—Elizabeth Periale
This beautiful image is one of many from Alexander Wilson's American Ornithology. Wilson did the original drawings or paintings from his studies of North American birds, which were then turned into plates—with the input on some of Titian Ramsay Peale and John James Audubon.—Elizabeth Periale
Alexander Wilson, American Ornithology; or The natural history of the birds of the United States, 1808-1814, 1. Maryland yellow throat. 2. Yellow breasted chat. 3. Summer red bird. 4. Female. 5. Indigo bird. 6. American redstart, pp. 6 ff.
