John James Audubon Papers, American Philosophical Society

John James Audubon (1785-1851), the American Woodsman, is a legendary naturalist and bird artist. His technique of painting North American birds dramatically as they appeared in their natural habitat was a major contribution to the emerging discipline of ornithology in the nineteenth century. His masterpiece, The Birds of America (1827-1838), elephant folio, was followed by a companion text edition, Ornithological Biography (1831-1849), a smaller octavo edition of Birds (1840-1844) and The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, published posthumously.

This collection of original letters of publication information, ornithology, and some personal notes was sent primarily to Lucy Bakewell Audubon, his wife, from 1826-1834, and to Victor Gifford Audubon, his son, from 1833-1834, 1840-1844, with some sporadic contact with both between 1836-1839. Items in the collection relate to Audubon's Florida, Great Egg Harbor, and Great Pine Forest expeditions but not to his final expedition up the Missouri River. Of particular note, letters of 1833 and 1834 contain references to his response to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia president George Ord's attacks on his credibility. A partial journal entry from New Orleans in 1821 and a few letters to other correspondents, including John Bachman, round out the material.

Background note

John James Audubon

John James Audubon (1785-1851), known as the American Woodsman, is a legend as a naturalist and bird artist. He was not the first person to attempt to paint and describe all the birds in America, but his unique technique of depicting his subjects dramatically contributed to his renown. His technique of painting freshly killed specimens surrounded by their natural habitats added a wealth of knowledge to the emerging discipline of ornithology in the nineteenth century.

Audubon was born April 26, 1785 in Santo Domingo (now Haiti) to a French naval captain, Jean Audubon, and his mistress, Jeanne Rabine. Formally adopted in 1794, Jean-Jacques Fougere Audubon was raised by the Captain's wife, Anne Moynet Audubon, and lived in France till 1803. In that year, Audubon came to America to escape conscription into Napoleon's army. He oversaw his father's farm, Mill Grove, in Pennsylvania, twenty-four miles northwest of Philadelphia. In these happy days, hunting, fishing, drawing and music completely occupied the naturalist. It was at this time, that he developed his technique for passing wires through freshly killed birds to fix them in characteristic poses on which he based his life-like sketches.

After marrying Lucy Bakewell in 1808, Audubon sold Mill Grove Farm and moved to Kentucky to try his hand in business. While there, Lucy gave birth to two sons, Victor Gifford and John Woodhouse. After several failed commercial ventures, Audubon, at thirty-four years old, settled down to his life's ambition, to paint every bird in the United States and its territories. His plan was to have prints made from his paintings, which he would sell on a subscription basis.

In 1824, Audubon made his way to Philadelphia, portfolio in hand, to find an engraver and publisher for his work. While his decision to depict all the birds in America was an ambitious one, it was not original. Noted Scottish Naturalist, Alexander Wilson, had published a nine-volume set titled, American Ornithology, between 1808 and 1814. James Mease, curator of the American Philosophical Society, introduced Audubon to some influential individuals in the city. One of these individuals was the nephew of Napoleon, Prince Charles Lucien Bonaparte, a knowledgeable ornithologist and artist. Bonaparte then presented him to the members of the Academy of Natural Sciences. Audubon offended this august group by disparaging Wilson's work. The Academy members had intellectual, as well as, financial interest in Wilson's work. Many of the members of the Academy, particularly George Ord, saw to it that Audubon would not receive the support he sought.

As a result, in 1826, Audubon sailed to Great Britain to seek his fame and fortune. His works were more successfully received in England and Scotland. He first employed W.H. Lizars of Edinburgh to engrave copper plates and pull prints. But due to labor unrest in Lizars firm, he turned to Robert Havell & Son, of London, to do the majority of the work.

Audubon's masterpiece, The Birds of America, a four-volume elephant folio with four hundred and thirty-five colored plates of 1,065 individual birds in life-size depictions measuring more than two by three feet, accompanied by a synopsis and index was completed in June, 1838. The text to The Birds of America was published separately as a five-volume work entitled Ornithological Biography. Done in collaboration with the Scottish ornithologist, William MacGillivray, it describes life histories of each of the species with anecdotes of Audubon's adventures. This work was completed in 1839 as a companion to the elephant folio edition. Following the completion of the double elephant folio, a seven-volume octavo edition of The Birds of America was published and completed by 1844. The size, ten and a half by six and a half inches, was more popular and more affordable than the larger edition.

With the publication of the first volume of The Birds of America, Audubon's reputation in the scientific community was secured. He was elected to membership of the American Philosophical Society in 1831 and even the Academy of Natural Sciences elected him an honorary member. Each institution then subscribed to Audubon's work and both still own original copies of the elephant folio edition.

The four volumes of The Birds of America were published over a ten-year period (1827-1838). During 1831 and 1834, Audubon made additional trips for collections and paintings to Florida, South Carolina, and Labrador. It was during 1832 that Victor sailed to England to become his father's business agent. Audubon spent much of 1834 and 1835 in England working on The Birds of America and Ornithological Biography.

Audubon, over this ten-year period, acquired many helpers and friends. George Lehman, Maria Martin, and Joseph Mason are some of the artists who painted backgrounds to be incorporated into the overall work. Robert Havell not only engraved the copper plates but also completed some of Audubon's paintings. But Audubon's most loyal American supporter was the Naturalist Rev. John Bachman of Charleston, South Carolina. He supplied many specimens for The Birds of America and later collaborated with him on his final work, The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America.

In 1839, Audubon and his family settled in New York City and in 1842 they built their first permanent home along the Hudson River, called "Minnie's Land." Work on the Quadrupeds began in 1840. A mammal project, John Bachman wrote much of the scientific text. Audubon undertook a final expedition up the Missouri River from March to September 1843 to gather specimens for this work. He then returned east to paint and travel to solicit subscriptions.

By the mid-1840s, Audubon had turned over much of his pursuits to his sons. John contributed substantial artistic talent to the Quadrupeds and Victor continued to be his father's business manager. Audubon died at Minnie's Land at the age of sixty-six on January 27, 1851. His sons completed publication of the Quadrupeds. Lucy Audubon, finding herself in financial straits, in 1863, sold Minnie's Land and the original drawings of The Birds of America to the New York Historical Society.

Though John James Audubon during his lifetime disconcerted both the artistic and scientific communities, his legacy is that he forever changed the way in which birds are illustrated. His ability to replicate their physical features made birds come alive in their natural environment. The freshness of his life-size images displays his genius as a meticulous ornithological recorder and as an exceptional artist.

Scope and content

The John James Audubon Papers is comprised primarily of correspondence between Audubon and his wife, Lucy Bakewell Audubon, 1826-1832, and his son, Victor Gifford Audubon, 1833-1834 and 1840-1844, with sporadic contact with both between 1836-1839. There are a few partial journal entries and letters to other correspondents including: John James Abert, John Bachman, William Cooper, Richard Harlan, Thomas McCulloch, Jr., The Earl of Shrewsbury, Sir J. Walthen Waller, Henry McMurtry, Baron Rothschild. The majority of these letters are one time correspondence to each name listed.

Of the fifty-six letters sent to Lucy Audubon between 1826-1832, most of them describe the day-to-day effort of Audubon to accomplish his goal of publishing The Birds of America. From 1826-1829, he relates his first trip to Great Britain, which includes his arrival in Liverpool, his trip to Edinburgh, his touring for subscribers in England and in France, and his employment of W.H. Lizars and Robert Havell. Upon returning to America in 1829, he writes of his work while painting in Great Egg Harbor and the Great Pine Forest. Lucy returns to England with Audubon in April 1830 but he continues to communicate his progress as he travels and she remains in Liverpool. These letters conclude with their return to America, and his trips to Charleston, S.C., where he first meets John Bachman, and to Florida in 1831-32.

There are 108 letters to Victor G. Audubon between 1833-1834, 1840-1844. With Victor in London, the majority of 1833 letters concern the completion of the prints, the exchanging of money, and directions on how to proceed with Havell and others. Letters of 1833 and 1834 contain a discussion of George Ord's and Charles Waterton's attack on his credibility with Audubon and Bachman's planned response.

In 1837, while Lucy remains in London with Victor, Audubon returns to America and communicates his southern expedition with John W. Audubon and Edward Harris. The family is together in England between mid-1837 to September 1839.

The remaining correspondence, 1840-1844, are to Victor and the family now settled in New York. Audubon travels to New England, Baltimore, Washington, and Montreal recruiting subscribers. Of particular note, the collection contains no letters from March to September 1843, the time-span of Audubon's Quadrupeds expedition.

As both Lucy Audubon and Victor Audubon served as business agents for John James Audubon, much of the content of the collection is business-like. Descriptions of his financial status, plans on how to proceed, lists with names of subscribers, and reports of work in progress are the overall content.

Some names of note within the collection include: Nicholas Berthoud, Charles Lucien Bonaparte, John George Children, Edward Harris, Robert Havell, Jr., George Ord, William Rathbone, Charles Waterson, Alexander Wilson, and those names listed as other correspondents.

Half of this collection is published in Letters of John James Audubon, 1826-1840, edited by Howard Corning. Boston: Club of Odd Volumes, 2 v., 1930. The May 31, 1821 journal entry has various publications including "The Fair Incognito" in Audubon by Himself, edited by Alice Ford. Garden City, N.Y.: The American Museum of Natural History, 1969. These two publications are invaluable companion research tools. Also, there are typed transcriptions contained within for some of the letters.

Administrative information

Restrictions

None.

Provenance

Formerly owned by Victor Morris Tyler, great-grandson of John James Audubon, this collection was purchased from Mary A. Benjamin in 1949.

Preferred citation

Cite as: John James Audubon, American Philosophical Society.

Processing information

Recatalogued by Ann Reinhardt, 2002.

Additional information

Related material

The American Philosophical Society Library's catalog lists 123 items related to John James Audubon. Included in our manuscript collection are the papers of George Ord, some papers of Charles Waterton, and in the print materials the paper John Bachman wrote in Audubon's defense, as read before the Boston Society of Natural History, February 5, 1834.

Other major manuscript collections are held at the American Museum of Natural History, New York; The Audubon Museum, Henderson, Kentucky; the Houghton Library, Harvard University; Princeton University Library; and Yale University Library (particularly the Morris Tyler Family Collection).

References

In addition to the above mentioned Howard Corning work he also edited:

Journal of John James Audubon Made During his Trip to New Orleans in 1820-1821 (1930) and

Journal of John James Audubon: Made While Obtaining Subscriptions to his "Birds of America", 1840-1843 (1929).

The principle biographies include:

Alice Ford, John James Audubon: a Biography (1988)

Francis H. Herrick, Audubon the Naturalist, 2 vols. (1938)

Shirley Shreshinsky, Audubon: Life and Art in the American Wilderness (1993).