John Abbot and William Swainson - Art, Science, and Commerce in Nineteenth-Century Natural History Illustration (Hardcover)

An archive of never-before-published illustrations of insects and plants painted by a pioneering naturalist. During his lifetime (1751-ca. 1840), English-born naturalist and artist John Abbot rendered more than 4,000 natural history illustrations and profoundly influenced North American entomology, as he documented many species in the New World long before they were scientifically described. For sixty-five years, Abbot worked in Georgia to advance knowledge of the flora and fauna of the American South by sending superbly mounted specimens and exquisitely detailed illustrations of insects, birds, butterflies, and moths, on commission, to collectors and scientists all over the world. Between 1816 and 1818, Abbot completed 104 drawings of insects on their native plants for English naturalist and patron William Swainson (1789-1855). Both Abbot and Swainson were artists, naturalists, and collectors during a time when natural history and the sciences flourished. Separated by nearly forty years in age, Abbot and Swainson were members of the same international communities and correspondence networks upon which the study of nature was based during this period. The relationship between these two men-who never met in person-is explored in John Abbot and William Swainson: Art, Science, and Commerce in Nineteenth-Century Natural History Illustration. This volume also showcases, for the first time, the complete set of original, full-color illustrations discovered in 1977 in the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand. Originally intended as a companion to an earlier survey of insects from Georgia, the newly rediscovered Turnbull manuscript presents beetles, grasshoppers, butterflies, moths, and a wasp. Most of the insects are pictured with the flowering plants upon which Abbot thought them to feed. Abbot's journal annotations about the habits and biology of each species are also included, as are nomenclature updates for the insect taxa. Today, the Turnbull drawings illuminate the complex array of personal and professional concerns that informed the field of natural history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These illustrations are also treasured artifacts from times past, their far-flung travels revealing a world being reshaped by the forces of global commerce and information exchange even then. The shared project of John Abbot and William Swainson is now brought to completion, signaling the beginning of a new phase of its significance for modern readers and scholars.

General

Imprint:	The University of Alabama Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	April 2019
Authors:	Janice Neri • Tara Nummedal • John V. Calhoun
Dimensions:	279 x 216 x 26mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	256
ISBN-13:	978-0-8173-2013-3
Categories:	Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > History of science Books > Arts & Architecture > History of art / art & design styles > 1800 to 1900 > General Books > Arts & Architecture > Art forms, treatments & subjects > Art treatments & subjects > Exhibition catalogues and specific collections Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Botany & plant sciences > General Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Zoology & animal sciences > Invertebrates > Insects (entomology) Books > Arts & Architecture > Art forms, treatments & subjects > Art treatments & subjects > Iconography, subjects depicted in art > Nature in art, still life, landscapes & seascapes > General
LSN:	0-8173-2013-X
Barcode:	9780817320133

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!