eBook

The Poetics of Natural History

Irmscher, Christoph

2019

Overview

Winner of the 2000 American Studies Network Prize and the Literature and Language Award from the Association of American Publishers, Inc.Early American naturalists assembled dazzling collections of native flora and fauna, from John Bartram's botanical garden in Philadelphia and the artful display of animals in Charles Willson Peale's museum to P. T. Barnum's American Museum, infamously characterized by Henry James as \"halls of humbug.\" Yet physical collections were only one of the myriad ways that these naturalists captured, catalogued, and commemorated America's rich biodiversity. They also turned to writing and art, from John Edward Holbrook's forays into the fascinating world of herpetology to John James Audubon's masterful portraits of American birds. In this groundbreaking, now classic book, Christoph Irmscher argues that early American natural historians developed a distinctly poetic sensibility that allowed them to imagine themselves as part of, and not apart from, their environment. He also demonstrates what happens to such inclusiveness in the hands of Harvard scientist-turned Amazonian explorer Louis Agassiz, whose racist pseudoscience appalled his student William James.  This expanded, full-color edition of The Poetics of Natural History features a preface and art from award-winning artist Rosamond Purcell and invites the reader to be fully immersed in an era when the boundaries between literature, art, and science became fluid.

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Subject: 19th century history / 2000 American Studies Network Prize / American birds / american studies / American Studies Network / American Studies Network Prize / Association of American Publishers / award winner / award winning / award-winning artist / award-winning author / awards for books / biodiversity / books that have won awards / books with awards / botanical gardens / Charles Willson Peale / comparative literature / cultural studies / culture / ecology / environment / essays / Henry James / history / HISTORY / United States / 19th Century / John Bartram / John Edward Holbrook / John James Audubon / life sciences / literary criticism / LITERARY CRITICISM / Comparative Literature / LITERARY CRITICISM / Subjects & Themes / Nature / literary studies / Literature and Language Award / Louis Agassiz / natural history / Natural history literature-United States / Natural history-Catalogs and collections-United States-History-18th century / Natural history-Catalogs and collections-United States-History-19th century / Natural history-United States-History-18th century / Natural history-United States-History-19th century / naturalism / Naturalists-United States / nature / NATURE / Essays / P. T. Barnum / P.T. Barnum's American Museum / Philadelphia / philly / philosophy / Poetics-History-18th century / Poetics-History-19th century / Pure sciences / Rosamond Purcell / science / SCIENCE / General / SCIENCE / History / SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Taxonomy / SCIENCE / Natural History / SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects / social aspects / taxonomy / u.s. history / united states history / us history / William James
• ISBN: 197880590X, 9781978805903, 197880587X, 9781978805873