White-headed Eagle, Plate 36 from American Ornithology
Item
Title
White-headed Eagle,
Plate 36 from American Ornithology
Plate 36 from American Ornithology
Creator
Alexander Lawson
American, b. Scotland, 1773–1846
After Alexander Wilson
American, b. Scotland, 1766–1813
Published between 1808 and 1814 by Bradford and Inskeep.
From the second edition published by Collins & Co. and Harrison Hall in 1829.
American, b. Scotland, 1773–1846
After Alexander Wilson
American, b. Scotland, 1766–1813
Published between 1808 and 1814 by Bradford and Inskeep.
From the second edition published by Collins & Co. and Harrison Hall in 1829.
Date
1811
Materials
Engraving and etching with hand coloring
Description
Like many of the people in his hometown of Paisley, Scotland, Alexander Wilson found employment, while still a young teenager, in the area’s burgeoning weaving industry. An interest in poetry, though—he was inspired by the writings of Robert Burns—eventually cost him his position, when one of his satirical verses attacking the working conditions in the mills led to his prosecution and imprisonment for libel. After his release, in 1794, he immigrated to the United States, where he supported himself as a teacher in several towns near Philadelphia, including Gray’s Ferry, home to the naturalist William Bartram, with whom Wilson soon became friends. Bartram nurtured Wilson’s growing fascination with ornithology, which the nascent scholar pursued by traveling some 12,000 miles across his adopted country, on foot, on horseback, and by boat, sketching and writing accounts about the hundreds of birds he observed along the way.
In 1806, Wilson convinced the Philadelphia publishing house Bradford and Inskeep, which had recently hired him as an editor, to issue his study. The initial volume of American Ornithology, the first book on the natural history of birds to be published in the United States, appeared two years later. Eight additional volumes followed, and when completed the effort featured a total of 283 species in seventy-six plates. All were engraved in Philadelphia by fellow Scotsman Alexander Lawson (with the assistance of several others) after Wilson’s originals, with most containing images of as many as five and six distinct birds. The white-headed or bald eagle on view here is one of just three plates in the entire collection to depict a single bird.
Wilson did not live to see his project through to completion. He died, of dysentery, on August 23, 1813, while the eighth volume was in press. The final volume was published posthumously, in 1814.
In 1806, Wilson convinced the Philadelphia publishing house Bradford and Inskeep, which had recently hired him as an editor, to issue his study. The initial volume of American Ornithology, the first book on the natural history of birds to be published in the United States, appeared two years later. Eight additional volumes followed, and when completed the effort featured a total of 283 species in seventy-six plates. All were engraved in Philadelphia by fellow Scotsman Alexander Lawson (with the assistance of several others) after Wilson’s originals, with most containing images of as many as five and six distinct birds. The white-headed or bald eagle on view here is one of just three plates in the entire collection to depict a single bird.
Wilson did not live to see his project through to completion. He died, of dysentery, on August 23, 1813, while the eighth volume was in press. The final volume was published posthumously, in 1814.
Source
Collection of Richard and Sally Kalin
Rights
This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses are not permitted.