BiblioBytes is thrilled to announce the publication of America's Other Audubon, by former CMNH Librarian Joy Kiser.
From the back of the book:
Nearly everyone is familiar with John James Audubon and his seminal color-plate book, Birds of America. But few are aware of another monumental volume of stunning artwork, Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, created by a remarkable American family. Inspired by viewing Audubon's lithographs at the 1876 World's Fair in Philadelphia, twenty-nine-year-old amateur naturalist and artist Genevieve Jones began working on a companion volume to Birds of America, illustrating the nests and eggs that Audubon left out. Her brother collected the nests and eggs, her father paid for the publishing costs, and Genevieve and her girlhood friend learned lithography and began illustrating the specimens.
When Genevieve died suddenly of typhoid fever, her family labored for seven years to finish the project in her memory. Only ninety copies of this book were originally published in 1886 and fewer than twenty-five copies now exist in institutions and private hands. For the first time, America's Other Audubon - featuring reproductions of all sixty-eight color lithographs and including a foreword by Leslie Overstreet, Smithsonian Curator of Natural History Rare Books - chronicles the fascinating story of Genevieve Jones, her family, and the making of this extraordinary book.
The Museum owns one of the remaining copies of this very rare treasure. In 1995, when Joy Kiser was the Librarian at the Museum, she became fascinated by our copy of the Jones book. She discovered that our copy originally belonged to Genevieve's mother, Virginia. Joy researched the history of the book and, with the help of the Jones family's descendents, fleshed out the story behind this beautiful masterpiece. Joy's research resulted in articles and presentations, and now we have this beautiful book to tell the fascinating story for generations to come.
Read more about Joy and her work in this Washington Post blog post, and find ordering information for the book here.
Joy Kiser will speak at a NOBS (Northern Ohio Bibliophilic Society) Forum at Loganberry Books on July 19, 2012. Stay tuned to BiblioBytes for additional local speaking engagements in the upcoming months.
Congratulations Joy on your beautiful accomplishment!