Name/Title
NewspaperEntry/Object ID
JJA.2019.3.31Description
This is a section of the National Gazette and Literary Register, which was issued in Philadelphia on Thursday, July 30, 1829. This issue is No. 1317 of Vol. X. This newspaper was printed by William Fry at No. 72, South Second Street in Philadelphia, as indicated on the first page at the top of the first column on the left. The newspaper consists of one folded sheet, with five columns printed on each half. The newspaper contains articles reprinted from other sources and other miscellaneous news. The first page, with news for July 29th, has articles ranging from details about a new monument dedicated to Alexander Hamilton at Trinity Church to a note from the Health Office. The second page has an excerpt from a June issue of the London Magazine titled, "Philosophy of Dress, Exercise, and Sleep," alongside news from the Gazette for July 30th. Local and international news articles continue onto the third page, in addition to stock prices and details concerning upcoming terms at university and boarding schools. The back page has an article about American silk and some advertisements. An article about John James Audubon's Birds of America is printed on the first page, at the bottom of the second column from the left and continues at the top of the middle column. The article reads as follows:
"Communication.
Birds of America, by J. J. Audubon.
'Can we find patrons no where but at Rome, And must I seek Maecenas in the tomb!'
It cannot be denied that, for correctness of outline, masterly grouping, softness of tint, boldness of design, and richness of coloring, this work has never had its equal. It is, in fact, the most magnificent monument the arts have ever erected to science; and the vastness of the plan is only equaled by the merits of its execution -
'Palmam qui meruit ferat.'
Mr. Audubon is an American citizen by birth and education, and we may claim him as ours with truth as well as with exultation. I could fill my paper with marks of the wonder and admiration with which I was excited during a long and critical survey of this most splendid and unique production. I could, as a stranger to the author, demand credence for the impartiality of my observations, but I prefer permitting those to speak whose dicta presuppose acquiescence, and who cannot be suspected partial to a son of our forests.
Baron Cuvier, in his report to the Royal academy of Sciences, after passing a high encomium upon Mr. Audubon in his double capacity of artist and savant, enters into the details of his work, and concludes by declaring, that 'Wilson's History of the Birds of the United States had already equaled the most beautiful of the European works on ornithology,' but, that if 'Mr. Audubon's be completed, America, for magnificence of execution, will have surpassed the Old World'
Swainson, whose observations are even more elaborate than those of Cuvier, and who seems in love with the subject, thus expresses himself: 'Viewing it as a specimen of the fine arts and judging by those rules which constitute pictorial criticism the size of the plates exceeds any thing I have either seen or heard of; they are no less than three feet three inches long, by two feet two inches broad! On the vast surface every bird is represented in its full dimensions. Large as is the paper, it is sometimes (as in the male wild turkey) barely sufficient for the purpose. In other cases it enables the painter to groupe [sic] his figures in the most beautiful and varied attitude, on the trees and plants they frequent. Some are feeding, others darting, pursuing or capturing their prey; all have life and animation: the plants, fruits and flowers which enrich the scene, are alone still.' And again: 'Such is the general character of the work, but it is of a nature to demand a more particular notice. What I have said might, in a general way, be repeated of others. This as I shall presently show, is perfectly unique, both as regards conception and execution.' Lastly: 'We feel, in short, that it is Mr. Audubon alone who can produce a work which, without such advantages as he possess, not all the united talents now in existence could supply.'!
Such is the character of the work in question, and of its author, in Europe. To the honor of the public bodies and libraries of Edinburgh and London, they have all stepped forward as subscribers, waving [sic] their legal rights to free copies. Individuals, too, private and public, have extended their patronage to it; while America, in listless apathy, permits foreign taste and foreign feeling to assume her glorious privilege of protecting her own arts! The interest of science, as well as our national pride and national feeling, demand our fostering hands; many individual fortunes are equal to the task, and all our public institutions. WEST.
I have just been informed that the above magnificent work will be left at the Academy of Natural Sciences for a few weeks, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, at 4 P.M., for the examination of the patrons of the arts and sciences."Collection
Ed Kenney CollectionMade/Created
Date made
1829 - 1829Notes
Date: 1829-1829Dimensions
Height
25 inWidth
19-1/4 in