The library: art and reference books

Susanne Low:  A Guide to Audubon's Birds of America

First published in a somewhat different format by Abbeville Press in 1988, and now reissued by William Reese Company and Donald A. Heald, this wonderful book has been extended to include information on the Bien Edition.  The book is a great guide for those collectors who feel they understand the big picture on Audubon and now want to explore some of the nitty-gritty details.  If you are interested in the "ifs, ands, and buts" of the Double Elephant Folio, or if you collect Havell or Bien Audubon folios, this book is a must.  It includes detailed information on variants, plate dimensions, the current names of the birds (common and scientific), and notes of interest for all 435 plates of the Havell Edition, plus a plate-by-plate discussion of the Bien Edition.  Ms. Low also highlights variations in the actual images across Havell, Bien, and octavo editions.

A noted Audubon scholar, Ms. Low's introductory notes includes information on bird nomenclature as Audubon understood it and as it is used today.  She identifies foreign birds (birds not native to America that Audubon included by mistake), extinct birds, and so-called "birds of mystery" (birds Audubon painted that cannot now be related to a known species); she even provides information on the birds that Audubon missed.  The book includes describes and provides guidelines for identification all 13 of the "composite" plates that Havell printed for Audubon's own copy (and two others) of the Double Elephant Folio.  Ms. Low gives background information on the creation of the plates and provides brief biographical notes for the people whose names figure in the nomenclature of Birds of America.

 

 

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Photo above taken of 1988 edition.  The 2001 edition is similar in contents.

At right, we have transcribed a typical entry (with explanation in square brackets).  All entries are accompanied by thumbnail black-and-white photos of the plates.

Plate CLXXXV [Havell Edition plate number], O. P. 419 [cross reference to original painting in collection of New-York Historical Society], One Species [number of species depicted], 20 1/2 x 14 3/4 [plate dimensions in inches]
Current name: Bachman's Warbler, Vermivora bachmanii (Audubon) [common name followed by scientific name and describer]
Name on plate: Bachman's Warbler, SYLVIA BACHMANII. Aud. [common name followed by scientific name and describer]

History: This species was first discovered and collected by the Reverend John Bachman, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and a brilliant scientist.  His sister-in-law Maria Martin (later his second wife) painted many of the plants and insects for the backgrounds of Audubon's paintings.  Two of Bachman's daughters married Audubon's two sons.  Audubon himself never saw this bird alive and knew it only from Bachman's description of its habits and the skins Bachman gave him.  Audubon named the bird to honor his great friend with whom he had a long and fruitful collaboration.  This is our rarest woodland warbler and it may be extinct.
Painting and plate depict a male, above and a female, below in a branch of the Franklinia tree.

 

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Last updated 02.28.09