Empire's Nature, Mark Catesby's New World Vision

Completed in 1747, Mark Catesby's Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands was the first major illustrated publication on the flora and fauna of Britain's American Colonies. Catesby's Natural History exerted an important, often overlooked, influence on the development of art, natural history, and scientific observation in the eighteenth century. Collectively, these essays help point the way toward a more comprehensive understanding of the man whose concerns and pursuits are particularly useful in clarifying the multiple functions of the natural sciences as they were practiced in relation to the building of empire in the first half of the eighteenth century.

HARDCOVER: 7 x 10 in
272 pages
By Amy R.W. Meyers & Margaret Beck Pritchard
Published in 1998 by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture & the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, by UNC Press, Chapel Hill & London.

$70

Catesby's Birds of Colonial America

With this lovely and informative volume, Alan Feduccia preserves the pathbreaking work of Mark Catesby, the English naturalist and illustrator who founded natural history and bird art in America. First published by UNC Press in 1985, the book features all 109 bird illustrations, 20 color plates, and the entire text from Catesby's pioneering Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. Annotating Catesby's writings from a modern perspective, Feduccia discusses the perception of each species during the Colonial period, comments on its habits, and compares Catesby's observations with those of such other early naturalists as John White, John Lawson, Alexander Wilson, and John James Audubon.

SOFTCOVER: 10 x 12 in
173 pgs
Edited by Alan Feduccia, Foreward by Russell W Peterson
Published in 1985 by UNC Press
$30

Catesby's Natural History

Facsimile of the Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands containing two hundred and twenty figures of birds, beasts, fishes, serpents, insects and plants by the late Mark Catesby, F.R.S. with an introduction by George Frick and notes by Joseph Ewan.

HARDCOVER: 20 x 14 in
108 pages; 220 B/W Illustrations
Published in 1974 by Beehive Press, Savannah, GA

$1,600 - Edition #12/30 for the Walpole Society. Very Good to Excellent Condition. Contains two loose reproduction plates: Plate #16, "Largest White-Billed Woodpecker" (Ivory Woodpecker) and Plate #27, "Mockingbird with Pink Dogwood".

$1,400 - Very Good to Excellent Condition. Contains two loose reproduction plates: Plate #17, "Large-Crested Woodpecker" and Plate #23, "Passenger Pigeon".

The Art of the Garden: Collecting Antique Botanical Prints

An essential reference, this gorgeous book documents the magnificent botanical prints produced by notable artists of the 17th century through the turn of the 20th centuries. Celebrated artists include Basil Besler, Maria Sybilla Merian, Mark Catesby, Georg Ehret, George Brookshaw, Robert John Thornton, Pierre Joseph Redoute, and many others. Illustrated with over 300 full-color images of original and valuable botanical prints,, this book fills a void in the literature, as few good botanical references remain in print. The text recounts the fascinating lives and passions of the artists and their patrons, the technical advances in printmaking, and the history and cultural influences that shaped the depiction of flowers, plants, and trees. Also discussed are many variables affecting the values of original antique botanical prints including condition, rarity, historical significance, and aesthetic appeal. A range of prices is included to guide you in your collecting and a section on framing, displaying and proper storage makes this an indispensable reference.

HARDCOVER: 12 x 10 in
288 pgs, 300 colored images
By Denise DeLaurentis and Hollie Powers Holt
Published in 2006 by Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
$85