Audubon at sea : the coastal & transatlantic adventures of John James Audubon / edited by Christoph Irmscher and Richard J. King ; with a foreword by Subhankar Banerjee.
Publisher:
The University of Chicago Press,
Copyright Date:
2022
Description:
xix, 334 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), map, portraits ; 24 cm
Journal of a sea voyage from New Orleans to Liverpool aboard the Delos (1826) -- Ornithological biography (1831-1839) -- Journal of a collecting voyage from Eastport to Labrador aboard the Ripley (1833).
Summary:
"John James Audubon's paintings of birds are as familiar as they are beautiful. But even among his admirers, many may be surprised to learn that Audubon was a gifted writer. In this one-of-a-kind anthology, Christoph Irmscher and Richard J. King have curated a collection of Audubon's coastal and sea writing, which represent Audubon's most compelling and evocative depictions of the natural world and early nineteenth-century American life. The collection is geographically diverse, bringing to light the variety of people and wildlife Audubon met or observed, pulling from the massive Ornithological Biography (1831-1839) as well as the "Autobiography" and journals. The editors supplement the selections with an instructive introduction and powerful coda, section headnotes, explanatory notes, and an appendix linking Audubon's species to current taxonomy and geographic ranges. The book is lavishly illustrated as well. There is much more in Audubon at Sea than descriptions of birds: we have stories of life aboard ship, of travel in early America and Audubon's work habits, the origins of iconic paintings, and, in the end, the carefully drawn commentary on a flawed and, at best, ambiguous hero"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.