Name/Title
Black and White CreeperEntry/Object ID
JJA.1995.2Description
This is a hand written manuscript by John James Audubon titled, "Plate 90 Black and White Creeper." "Plate 90" is handwritten in the upper left corner and the number "331" is written in the upper right corner in heavy blue ink (marker or crayon). The manuscript covers one side of the sheet. The document is attached at all four corners by adhesive to a backing sheet. Enclosed on three sides in a Mylar sleeve. One page on a sheet of woven paper watermarked in B&T Sweetapple/1829, bearing Audubon's heading; Plate 90 Black & White Creeper," being the narrative portion of his description of this bird for the Ornithological Biography, as published, with a few minor variations, authorial emendations, tipped to a larger sheet. Audubon principally interested in how the Creeper moves, "it climbs and creeps along the trunks, the branches and even the twigs of the tree, without intermission, and so seldom perches, that I do not remember ever having seen it in such a position... it keeps close together, and moves in short successive hops with a rapidity equally even that of the Brown Creeper... It dives from the tips of trees to their roots." This manuscript displays subtle editorial changes that were made for the printed text. Audubon's partiality for the Creeper is evident in phrases such as "this pretty little fellow," absent from the wording in the Ornithological Biography. Additionally, the name of the bird changes from the Black and White Creeper to the Black and White Creeper-Warbler.Collection
John James Audubon Museum CollectionMade/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Audubon, John JamesRole
WriterManufacturer
Audubon, John JamesDate made
1829 - 1838Notes
Date: 1829-1838Lexicon
Search Terms
Communication Artifacts, Warblers, ManuscriptsDimensions
Height
16-1/2 inWidth
10-1/4 in