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Treasures of the American Philosophical Society

Natural History

"Sunset on the Missouri 370 miles above its mouth," Titian Ramsay Peale, July 28, 1819

"Sunset on the Missouri 370 miles above its mouth"

Titian Ramsay Peale II, July 28, 1819
Benjamin Latrobe's Rattlesnake

Rattlesnake Skeleton

Benjamin Henry Latrobe, circa 1804
Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), William Bartram (lived 1739-1823), circa 1803

Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)

William Bartram (lived 1739-1823), circa 1803
Great Alachua - Savana, East Florida, William Bartram

Great Alachua - Savana, East Florida

William Bartram (lived 1739-1823), 1774
Mauna Loa (Volcano), Hawaii, Titian Ramsay Peale II (lived 1799-1885), 1840

Mauna Loa (Volcano), Hawaii

Titian Ramsay Peale (lived 1799-1885), 1840
Mockingbird, Audubon's Birds of America

Birds of America

John James Audubon, “Elephant Folios," printed 1827-1838
Arctic Ice

Arctic Ice

Franz Boas, July 28, 1883
Philadelphia Museum Ticket

Philadelphia Museum Ticket

Charles Willson Peale, 1826
Arethusa divaricata, William Bartram

Arethusa divaricata

William Bartram (lived 1739-1823), n.d.

"Sunset on the Missouri 370 miles above its mouth"

Titian Ramsay Peale II, July 28, 1819

This watercolor was made when APS Member Titian Ramsay Peale II was on the "Long Expedition," which explored the region between the Mississippi River and the Rockies from 1819 to 1820. Peale, both a naturalist and an artist, participated in several important exploratory expeditions. 

Natural history illustration played an important role in exploration. Photography was not possible to use during expeditions until after circa 1860. Artists-naturalists were needed to document newly discovered lands and their flora and fauna.

Titian II was the son of APS Member and famed portrait painter Charles Willson Peale. He was named Titian Ramsay Peale II after his much loved older brother, Titian Ramsay Peale, who died before he was born. Titian II was elected to the APS in 1883.

"Sunset on the Missouri 370 miles above its mouth" Titian Ramsay Peale July 28, 1819

Rattlesnake Skeleton

Benjamin Henry Latrobe, circa 1804

This life-size drawing is 40 inches long and is considered one of the premier early American natural history images. It documents a scientific dissection.

Native to the eastern United States, the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) was often used as a symbol for the American colonies, as in Benjamin Franklin’s “JOIN, or DIE” cartoon and the motto “Don’t Tread on Me.” Superstitions about the snake’s “fascinating faculty”—its ability to enchant its prey—spurred scientific debate.
 

 

Benjamin Latrobe Rattlesnake Skeleton

Click right below for detail images of the skeleton and Latrobe's drawings of the rattlesnake dissection.

Benjamin Latrobe Rattlesnake Skeleton head

Head detail.

Benjamin Latrobe Rattlesnake Skeleton

Rattle detail.

Benjamin Latrobe Rattlesnake dissection, tongue, internal organs

Rattlesnake internal organs and tongue. "View of the Internal Structure, showing the animal lying on his back."

Benjamin Latrobe Rattlesnake dissection

Rattlesnake anatomy.

Benjamin Latrobe Rattlesnake dissection

Rattlesnake stomach and other organs.

Benjamin Latrobe Rattlesnake dissection

"Rattlesnake muscles of the Scuta, taken from the 75th rib towards the tail. Muscles of the back and side. Squamal muscles."

Benjamin Latrobe Rattlesnake dissection

"View of the Organs of Generation"

Benjamin Latrobe Rattlesnake dissection

Rattlesnake tail.

Benjamin Latrobe Rattlesnake dissection

Rattlesnake tail anatomy.

Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)

William Bartram (lived 1739-1823), circa 1803

This flesh eating plant has fascinated people since its 1769 discovery in the eastern wetlands of North Carolina.

Philadelphia botanist, artist, and APS Member William Bartram collected Venus flytraps in the wild in North Carolina. He also cultivated and drew them in his own garden in Philadelphia. APS Member Thomas Jefferson was also fascinated with the Venus flytrap and imported seeds to Paris when he lived there. Later he grew flytraps at his Virginia home, Monticello.

Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), William Bartram (lived 1739-1823), circa 1803
Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), William Bartram (lived 1739-1823), circa 1803

Note the insects caught in the Venus Flytrap.

Great Alachua - Savana, East Florida

William Bartram (lived 1739-1823), 1774

In 1773, APS Member William Bartram embarked upon a four-year journey through eight southern colonies. He started in Philadelphia and went as far south as Florida, where he drew this map.

He made many drawings and took notes on the native flora and fauna, as well as the Indigenous peoples. This map was made in 1774. Later Bartram wrote Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, the Cherokee Country, etc. At the time, it was considered one of the foremost books on American natural history.
 

Great Alachua - Savana, East Florida, William Bartram
Great Alachua - Savana, East Florida, William Bartram

Detail

Great Alachua - Savana, East Florida, William Bartram

Detail

Mauna Loa (Volcano), Hawaii

Titian Ramsay Peale (lived 1799-1885), 1840

Titian Ramsay Peale II was an early American naturalist and artist who participated in several important exploratory expeditions. Photography was not possible on expeditions until around 1860. Artists were needed to document the newly discovered landscapes, plants, and animals.

Peale participated in the five year long United States Exploring Expedition, an exploration of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted from 1838 to 1842. He painted this watercolor of the Mauna Loa volcano while in Hawaii.

Titian II was the son of APS Member and famed portrait painter Charles Willson Peale. He was named Titian Ramsay Peale II after his much loved older brother, Titian Ramsay Peale, who died before he was born. Titian II was elected to the APS in 1883. 
 

Mauna Loa (Volcano), Hawaii, Titian Ramsay Peale (lived 1799-1885), 1840

Birds of America

John James Audubon, “Elephant Folios," printed 1827-1838

John James Audubon’s complete set of Birds of America was purchased by the APS on October 7, 1831, and Audubon was elected an APS Member the same year.


Audubon's Birds of America is a portal into the natural world. Printed between 1827 and 1838, it contains 435 life-sized watercolors of North American birds, all reproduced from hand-engraved plates. They have long been the standard by which other natural history illustrations have been measured. They are called “elephant folios” because they are so big (39.5 inches tall x 28.5 inches wide).

Mockingbird, Audubon's Birds of America

Mockingbirds

Mockingbird and rattlesnake, Audubon's Birds of America

Audubon depicted a rattlesnake attacking the mockingbird nest, making this image a jarring but realistic presentation of nature.

Mockingbird, Audubon's Birds of America

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, mockingbirds were captured and sold as caged songbirds. Thomas Jefferson had a series of pet mockingbirds--his favorite was named "Dick." Jefferson let Dick perch on his shoulder and take food from his lips. Dick even sang along when Jefferson played the violin.

Audubon, The full set of bound "Elephant Folios."

The full set of bound "Elephant Folios."

Audubon Birds of America, Wild Turkey

An "elephant folio" open to the Wild Turkey.

Audubon Birds of America, Wild Turkey

The Wild Turkey. Unfortunately, the story about Benjamin Franklin wanting the National Bird to be a turkey is just a myth. 

Arctic Ice

Franz Boas, July 28, 1883

Anthropologist Franz Boas created these drawings of Arctic ice in 1883 when he began his fieldwork with the Inuit of Baffin Island, Canada.

Boas, 25 years old, spent a year learning the Inuit language, living in their tents and snow houses, sharing their food, and experiencing their culture. At the same time he was taking detailed notes and surveying and mapping the landscape and coastline. Boas became the most influential anthropologist of his time. He shaped the field of modern anthropology by challenging widespread beliefs in a cultural hierarchy.
 

Arctic Ice, by Franz Boas

Iceberg. Click right for more drawings.

Arctic Ice, by Franz Boas

Iceberg

Arctic Ice, by Franz Boas

Ice shelf

Arctic Ice, by Franz Boas

View between two ice shelves.

Philadelphia Museum Ticket

Charles Willson Peale, 1826

Charles Willson Peale’s Philadelphia Museum was the first successful public museum in the United States.

Peale began his artistic career by painting portraits of America’s founders. To disperse “a knowledge of Nature which may be profitable to my Country,” Charles Willson converted his portrait studio into a museum and added natural history specimens. He later moved his Philadelphia Museum to the APS’s Philosophical Hall from 1794-1810. Today, Philosophical Hall is the site of the APS Museum.

Peale's sense of humor is shown on this ticket. He created fanciful drawings of creatures from the ancient horseshoe crab to the flying squirrel to the ostrich. A paddlefish--the first item in the museum collection, donated by APS President Robert Patterson--is depicted at the bottom of the ticket.

Peale had a total of 17 children with two wives. Many were named after artists, such as Titian Ramsay Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Raphaelle Peale, Sophonisba Augusciola Peale, and Sybilla Miriam Peale. Charles Willson Peale became an APS Member in 1786.

Philadelphia Museum Ticket
Philadelphia Museum Ticket

Bats and a flying squirrel.

Philadelphia Museum Ticket

The paddlefish and a horseshoe crab.

Arethusa divaricata

William Bartram (lived 1739-1823), n.d.

This drawing by Philadelphia naturalist and APS Member William Bartram is of a native North American woodland orchid, Arethusa divaricata, also known as Cleistesiopsis divaricata. You can see early Philadelphia in the background.

In the detail, note two carnivorous native American plants: a sundew at the base of the orchid, and a Venus flytrap to the left. Also note a Native American paddling a canoe on the Delaware River.

 

Arethusa divaricata, William Bartram

Click right below for the image details.

Arethusa divaricata, William Bartram

In this detail, note the carnivorous sundew plant at the base of the orchid. Also note a Native American paddling a canoe on the Delaware River. Independence Hall can be seen between the two church spires.

Venus flytrap, William Bartram

This detail shows a Venus flytrap.

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