Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of the Birds of America

393 Pages·2014·3.21 MB·English

by  William Souder

Biography / Nature $18
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“a meticulous biography and a fascinating portrait of a young nation.”
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—san francisco chronicle
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In the century and a half since audubon’s death, his name has become synonymous with a
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wildlife conservation and natural history. but few people know what a complicated figure he d
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was—or the dramatic story behind The Birds of America. S
before audubon, ornithological illustrations depicted scaled-down birds perched in ae
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static poses. Wheeling beneath storm-racked skies or ripping flesh from freshly killed prey,
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audubon’s life-size birds looked as if they might fly screeching off the page. The wildness u
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in the images matched their maker—a self-taught painter and self-anointed aristocrat,
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who, with his buckskins and long hair, wanted to be seen as both a hardened frontiers- N
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man and a cultured man of science.
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In truth, neither his friends nor his detractors ever knew exactly who audubon was. Tor- N
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mented by a fog of ambiguities surrounding his birth, he reinvented himself ceaselessly, creat-

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ing a life as dramatic as his art. but when he came east at thirty-eight—broke and desperate to hd
find a publisher for his birds—he ran squarely into a scientific establishment still wedded to e PuLITZe R

convention and suspicious of the brash newcomer and his grandiose claims. It took audubon me PRIZe
fifteen years to prevail in both his project and his vision. how he triumphed and what drove a
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him is the subject of this gripping narrative. i
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Praise for Under a Wild s ky oa
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“a new biography of the famed ornithological illustrator and naturalist that is as richly endowed thW
and densely packed as the forests of audubon’s day.” e

—minneapolis star Tribune BI
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“deftly weaves together the story of the self-taught artist and naturalist John James audubon with d
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the development of scientific inquiry in the early years of the republic and the lives of ordinary d
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americans as the new nation spilled westward over the mountains from the eastern seaboard.”
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—Los Angeles Times
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William souder is an award-winning journalist eK
and the author of three books: A Plague of frogs, r
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Under a Wild sky, and on a farther shore: The cY
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Life and Legacy of rachel carson. he lives in u n d eR a W I Ld s K Y
Grant, minnesota.
John James a udubon
cover design by mary Austin speaker
cover artwork by John James Audubon
and the making of The Birds of AmericA
W i l l i a m S o u d e r
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Also by WilliAm souder
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A Plague of Frogs
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On a Farther Shore
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JOHN JAMES AUDUBON AND THE
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MAKING OF THE BIRDS OF AMERICA 15
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WILLIAM SOUDER
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NORTH POINT PRESS
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A DIVISION OF FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX
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JOHN JAMES AUDUBON AND THE
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MAKING OF THE BIRDS OF AMERICA 15
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NORTH POINT PRESS
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A DIVISION OF FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX
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© 2004, Text by William Souder
© 2014, Cover art by John James Audubon
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be repro-
duced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington
Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415.
[phone] 1
For Joe,Martha,Tom,and Elizabeth
www.milkweed.org 2
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Published 2014 by Milkweed Editions
Printed in the United States of America 4
Cover design by Mary Austin Speaker
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Cover art by John James Audubon
Author photo by Dani Werner 6
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First Edition
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Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from the
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Bush Foundation; the Jerome Foundation; the Lindquist & Vennum Foundation; the McKnight Foundation; the
National Endowment for the Arts; the Target Foundation; and other generous contributions from foundations, 10
corporations, and individuals. Also, this activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota
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State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage
fund, and a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota. For a full listing of Milkweed Editions supporters, 12
please visit www.milkweed.org.
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Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reprint previously published and unpub-
lished material: Lines from “Sleepless night” by Octavio Paz, translated by Eliot Weinberger, from The Collected 18
Poems 1957–1987, copyright © 1986 by Octavio Paz and Eliot Weinberger. Reprinted by permission of New 19
Directions Publishing Corp.
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The author also wishes to thank the American Philosophical Society for permission to quote from various un- 21
published manuscripts, and from The Life and Letters of Alexander Wilson by Clark Hunter, copyright © 1983 by the
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American Philosophical Society for its Memoirs series, volume 154.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
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Souder, William, 1949–
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Under a wild sky : John James Audubon and the making of the Birds of America / William Souder.
pages cm 26
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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ISBN 978-1-57131-355-3 (paperback) — ISBN 978-1-57131-923-4 (ebook)
1. Audubon, John James, 1785-1851. 2. Ornithologists—United States—Biography. 3. Audubon, John 28
James, 1785–1851. Birds of America. I. Title.
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QL31.A9S68 2014
598.092—dc23 30
[B]
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2014013774
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Milkweed Editions is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book production practices with
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this principle, and to reduce the impact of our operations in the environment. We are a member of the Green Press
Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the world’s endan- 34
gered forests and conserve natural resources. Under A Wild Sky was printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer-waste
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paper by Edwards Brothers Malloy.
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For Joe,Martha,Tom,and Elizabeth
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CONTENTS
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PART I: AUDUBON AND WILSON 15
1. Philadelphia 3 16
2. Coming Across 18 17
3. A Name for Every Living Thing 29 18
4. Lessons 45 19
5. A Beautiful Plantation 65 20
6. The Forester 80 21
7. The Exquisite River 87 22
8. Mr.Wilson’s Decade 104 23
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PART II:THE BIRDS OF AMERICA 25
9. At the Red Banks 121 26
10. Kentucky Home 132 27
11. Legions of the Air 146 28
12. Ever Since a Boy 163 29
13. Edinburgh 195 30
14. Dearest Friend 227 31
15. My Great Work 246 32
16. After 286 33
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Acknowledgments 293 35
Notes 297 36
Bibliography 349 S37
Index 357 R38
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CONTENTS
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PART I: AUDUBON AND WILSON 15
1. Philadelphia 3 16
2. Coming Across 18 17
3. A Name for Every Living Thing 29 18
4. Lessons 45 19
5. A Beautiful Plantation 65 20
6. The Forester 80 21
7. The Exquisite River 87 22
8. Mr.Wilson’s Decade 104 23
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PART II:THE BIRDS OF AMERICA 25
9. At the Red Banks 121 26
10. Kentucky Home 132 27
11. Legions of the Air 146 28
12. Ever Since a Boy 163 29
13. Edinburgh 195 30
14. Dearest Friend 227 31
15. My Great Work 246 32
16. After 286 33
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Acknowledgments 293 35
Notes 297 36
Bibliography 349 S37
Index 357 R38
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The living are alive
walking flying ripening bursting
the dead are alive
oh bones still hot
wind shakes and scatters them
—Octavio Paz