| Mark Catesby Gallery |
| The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands (Animals) | |||
| In 1712, Mark Catesby came into a small inheritance which enabled him to fulfill a long-standing dream and book passage to America. His sister was married to the Secretary to the Governor of Virginia, and was able to provide him with introductions to the leading men of the Colonies. During the next seven years, he travelled extensively to collect and record the flora and fauna of the New World. Many of the specimens were sent to England; soon they found their way into gardens in Paris, Leyden, and Danzig. Encouraged by his English friends, (including many members of the Royal Society) Catesby returned in 1722 and walked over most of what is now Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas. In 1725, he extended his research to the Bahamas. The notebooks that he filled with drawings and the packing-cases of preserved specimens were the raw material for an unprecedented project: a scientific account of heretofore unknown wildlife, with illustrations taken from life. The text recorded his personal observations, as well as theories, legends, and folktales gathered over the course of a decade. Unable to interest sponsors for his massive 'Natural History', Catesby learned to etch copperplates from Joseph Goupy, a French artist then working in London. He produced all but two of the plates for 'Natural History' and either painted the impressions himself or closely supervised the work to insure its fidelity to his models. 'The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands' became the first book devoted to the natural history of North America. An illustrated nature study of American plants and animals, it has lost none of its power to delight in the 250 years since it was published. A monument to Catesby's intelligence and love of nature and even his single-mindedness, it provided ornithologists and scientists, including John James Audubon who followed in Catesby's footsteps a century later, the model for their own achievements. | |||
| Publication City: London Medium: Hand-colored etchings Dimensions: 14 1/2 x 20 1/2 inches (approximate page size) Date: 1731-43 | |||
| SELECTIONS FROM THIS WORK | |||
 Bahama Unicorn Fish details |  Barracuda details |  Bead Snake With Sweet Potato details |  Black Muray details |  Blue Tailed Lizard details |  Bluefish details |  Blueish Green Snake details |  Bone Fish details |  Bull Frog details |  Cat Fish details |  Chain Snake details |  Coach Whip Snake details |  Croker details |  Flying Squirrel details |  Flying Squirrel With Persimmon details |  Glass Snake details |  Green Lizard Of Jamaica details |  Green Turtle details |  Grey Fox details |  Guana details |  Hermit Crab details |  Hog Fish details |  Little Brown Bean Snake details |  Margate Fish details |  Mutton Fish details |  No.17 details |  No.26 details |  No.30 details |  Pole Cat details |  Pork Fish details |  Pudding Wife details |  Rattle Snake details |  Rock Fish details |  Small Rattle Snake details | | |
