John James Audubon’s prospectus for The birds of America

The prospectus for The birds of America, which was used by John James Audubon as a marketing tool while canvassing for potential subscribers, went through a series of editions between 1827 and 1838. From a single folded sheet describing the general scope of the work and its price, the prospectus grew to 16 pages that incorporated a separate title-page, the names of subscribers, favourable reviews, and a list of the individual prints that had been published. As the project came to a close, Audubon encapsulated the salient details in advertisements printed in publications in England and America. Six editions, based on 16 extant copies, were identified by W. H. Fries in 1973. Since that time, additional information has become available about the various editions, including ones of which Fries was not aware. A summary and reclassification of the editions is appropriate to assist in better understanding the history and rarity of this publication.

The limits of imperial influence: John James Audubon in British North America

For two decades, John James Audubon (1785–1851) travelled widely and frequently while working on his illustrated natural history volumes – still highly prized today for their aesthetic and scientific merit: Birds of America (1827–1838) and Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1846–1854). Neither independently wealthy nor employed as a salaried scientist, the artist-naturalist with a flair for marketing financed his projects by selling subscriptions. Successfully marketing Birds to members of the British aristocracy, as well as to organizations and to artistic and intellectual elites, Audubon was reluctant to take Quadrupeds to Britain even though sales there were key to the financial viability of his work. Instead, in 1842 Audubon travelled to Canada (now Ontario and Quebec), the most populous region of British North America. The colony was, he calculated, a viable source of subscribers; however, he was wrong. Moreover, having travelled to British North America previously, he should have expected modest returns. Nonetheless, he was optimistic that this expedition would succeed where those to New Brunswick (1832) and Labrador and Newfoundland (1833) had failed. This paper examines why success eluded Audubon in the colonies, arguing that entrepreneurialism buttressed by patronage – a winning strategy in Britain – failed because there was a vast difference between metropolis and hinterland when it came to supporting the arts and sciences.

Audubon and Catlin: Artists of the American Wilderness

This chapter considers the writings of two specific visitors to Liverpool. The naturalist John James Audubon, famous for his Birds of America, recorded impressions gathered during his residence here. Secondly the showman George Catlin mounted a number of exhibitions in the city, including glimpses of Native American life. The latter was one of the earliest examples of celebrity culture in visitors to the city.

Trends and Anti-Trends in Techno-Art Scholarship: The Legacy of the Arts “Machine” Special Issues

With the goal of casting a spotlight on the posture of the creative community at this crucial moment in human technological history, we present herein a thematic overview of the 23 articles published in the recent Arts Special Issues “The Machine as Art (in the 20th Century)” and “The Machine as Artist (for the 21st Century)”. Surprisingly, several of the themes that had been suggested in our two introductory essays as representing shared and positive points of departure—in particular, (a) the visual arts as a longstanding touchstone of human culture, (b) the visual arts (with the example of John James Audubon) as having a unique ability to rally the public to the environmental cause, and (c) computer and robotic proficiency in the arts as leading to a friendlier artificial intelligence—received less than the expected amount of attention. Instead, it was another of the suggested themes (albeit also of a positive and forward-looking nature) around which our authors coalesced, as expressed in the following phrase: the “vast expansion of the creative sphere” which technology has made possible, or in other words, the idea that technology is not only providing new horizons for the professional artist but is also providing new avenues for the non-professional to discover his or her creative potential. In light, furthermore, of the marked enthusiasm for this theme, we suggest in our conclusion the need for a corresponding expansion of the venues available to both professional and non-professional techno-art practitioners.