Photograph by courtesy of the American Museum of Natural
History, New York
PORTRAIT OF ALEXANDER WILSON
After a painting made by John Watson
Gordon from an original picture of Wilson
owned by his sister
In Philadelphia, under the inspiration of Franklin, American science first put forth its budding twigs in the peace that followed the Revolution. Hither tramped the Scottish weaver-poet, Alexander Wilson, who landed in New York from Paisley in 1794. After many vicissitudes, he became acquainted with William Bartram, whose botanical garden was the pride of the town, and who himself had written a book of travel and observation which may perhaps be regarded as the earliest production in the field we are to cover in this article. Through him and other local naturalists, such as Dr. Barton and the Peales, Wilson became fascinated with the study of birds. Poor as he was, and untrained in drawing, he formed a resolution to prepare a work describing all birds of North America known to him, illustrated by colored plates executed by himself. "I am entranced," he wrote in 1804 to Bartram, with quaint humor, "over the plumage of a lark, or gazing, like a despairing lover, on the lineaments of an owl."
There is hardly a greater marvel in literary history than the accomplishment of the task of publishing nine volumes of "The American Ornithology" between 1806 and 1814, the last one a year after Wilson's death. As ornithology (the science of birds) it stands surprisingly well the test of criticism, and otherwise it bears the same classic relation to our literature that Gilbert White's "Selborne" does to that of England. Wilson's style is clear and free from affectation of any sort, his diction simple and pure, illumined by that joy in his subject which was increased by every new discovery, and sweetened by poetic appreciation and genial humor. It is extremely fortunate that, at the beginning of our out-of-door literature, so excellent a model existed for young writers. Every bird lover will enjoy reading Wilson, and every would-be essayist ought to study his pages.
PORTRAIT BUST OF AUDUBON
By W.E. Couper, in the American Museum
of Natural History, New York
HOME OF AUDUBON BUILT IN 1842
Overlooking the Hudson. From a lithograph made in 1865
