Gretchen Beilfuss Witt


March 18, 2012
Catesby Volumes
Most have heard of Audubon, but a century before his work, another naturalist set the bar for excellence in both study and illustration. Mark Catesby came to the American Colony of Virginia in April of 1712 accompanying his sister to Williamsburg, where her husband Dr. William Cocke was a successful and politically active physician. Cocke introduced Catesby to a number of influential gentlemen of the colony also very interested in the scientific analysis of the natural world. Among those in Catesby's circle was William Byrd II, a fellow of the Royal Society. In September of 1712, Catesby and Byrd journeyed on the Pamunkey River to observe the nature of the region. This trip was the beginning of a lifelong friendship between the two men.

Catesby continued his study and trips to the American colonies throughout the next few years and in between 1722 -1726, Catesby explored the Carolina colonies. Deliberately choosing to observe each area more than once but during alternate seasons, he captured the flora and fauna in different states.

Returning in 1726 to London, Catesby immediately sought a way to publish his work. Not having the money to send the drawings to Amsterdam or Paris to engravers and wanting to maintain control over his own work, he persuaded Joseph Goupy, a printmaker, to teach him how to etch plates. He divided his illustrations into two main groups, the first containing birds and attendant plants, the second fish, reptiles, and amphibians, etc. He spent the next twenty years working on his book, supporting himself by working in commercial nurseries growing plants from seeds obtained on his travels. The printed etchings and descriptions were sold by subscription. Put together as folios, the text and drawings had to be printed on two different presses and then brought together. Initially Catesby planned to make a plate for each plant and animal; while the first few plates contain only a single object, he began to put animals and plants on the same plates. During this timeframe most books on natural history had few illustrations and those were drawn from dead animals. His work was unique in that the plants, fish, and birds were sketched from life adding to the appeal and accuracy of the images. For the first edition, he colored the printed etchings himself until enough money came in from subscriptions to hire colorists to follow his "master set." These folios were bound as the subscriber wished, many as two volumes like our own, and others in three volumes like that of Windsor Castle in England. This magnificent work of both science and art was owned by kings and queens, royal governors, members of the Royal Society, as well as scholars and naturalists from Philadelphia to St. Petersburg.

Due to the generosity of the Craige family and as part of the Craige Collection, Rowan Public Library is the proud owner of a set of Mark Catesby's The natural history of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands. These books, carefully preserved, are displayed on the lower level of the Headquarters library.