Where I've been and what I've learned along the way…
This book records a real expedition lead by Teddy Roosevelt in 1913-14 after he was president!
It has the most amazing cover… embossed, leather (I assume) with a Golden Anteater?!
The full text is available online for anyone interested.
Books pictured/reviewed here are from the
Alachua County Friends of the Library
unless otherwise specified.
Materials presented for review purposes only.
I started volunteering at the Alachua Friends of the Library in 2021. Since that time I have come across many gems and oddments which I will collect here for the edification and amusement of all.
Books pictured/reviewed here are from the
Alachua County Friends of the Library
unless otherwise specified.
Materials presented for review purposes only.
The Book of Birds; Intended for the Amusement and Instruction of Young People, that’s some title! We discovered this book in our “attic” during a major cleaning. Turns out it is over 170 years old… pre-Civil War!
Below is a limited sampling of historically significant pages that contain many surprising (and perhaps inaccurate) facts. Alas the “Elegant Plates” mentioned on the title page appear to be missing. Also missing is any mention of smaller birds such as wrens and warblers?!
Sad to say the Great Auk was near extinction (by human hands) at the time this book was written. The book says it “is frequently seen” but this is unlikely. For Europeans it was the original penguin. In other words penguins were named after the auk and not the other way around! [Pinguinus impennis is the correct classification, Alca is the genus for the related Razorbill.]
The Common Loon is now classified as Gavia immer. They can (according to the book) predict approaching tempests. Their pelts and feathers were also popular with various native peoples for ceremonial clothing, but “They are never eaten.“
The book actually cites Lewis & Clark (!) to say Condors inhabit the “Rocky Mountains“. It goes on to say it is doubtful the bird “assaults infants” but a group may attack and maim a “young bull“.
Modern books refer to this bird as the Carolina Parakeet, now extinct. Apparently it originally ranged as far north as New York and Wisconsin, and as far west as Colorado! No more, how sad…