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Today at noon Animal House will air an interview about my book.

And only four days to go until the book launch in the Smithsonian!

Notable books of 2012: mid-year roundup

The editors of BirdWatching magazine describe Steve N.G. Howell's guide to petrels, albatrosses, and storm-petrels, Julie Zickefoose's new collection of essays, John Marzluff's latest book about crows, Derek Lovitch's guide to becoming a better birder, David Sibley's backyard birding flashcards, and 10 other new books about birds and birdwatching.

Published: April 20, 2012

America's Other Audubon by Joy M. Kiser, Princeton Architectural Press, 2012, 144 pages, $45, hardcover.

A treasure trove of nest art
Before she died of typhoid fever at age 32 in 1879, naturalist and artist Genevieve “Gennie” Jones had been hard at work on her book Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio. From childhood, Jones had collected nests and eggs with her father, and they often discussed the need for a book that would identify each bird’s nests and eggs. Years later, after seeing handcolored engravings from Audubon’s The Birds of America, Jones decided, with the support of her parents, brother, and best friend, to create her book.

After her death, her family labored for seven years to finish the project in her memory. In 1886, 90 copies were published. Today, fewer than 25 copies remain in institutions and private collections. Fortunately, Joy M. Kiser, a former librarian with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, recognized the importance of telling the story of Gennie Jones, her family, and their remarkable book. In America’s Other Audubon, Kiser features reproductions of their original art, as well as archival photographs of the family and Gennie’s field notes about the birds she knew so well. A treasure.

Finally!

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow! You're only a day away!

I found out on Saturday that the Deputy Director of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries will join us in the Natural History Rare Book Library tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. to see America's Other Audubon for the first time.

The advance copy of my book is here! We are going to open the package in the Smithsonian on Tuesday.

My book arrived at the PAP today and my copy will be here by the end of the week! I am organizing a joint package opening event with Smithsonian Natural History Rare Book Curator Leslie K. Overstreet and Steve Jonnes some day next week. (If it suits everyone's schedule.)

Only two more weeks to go until the advance copies are received in the Princeton Architectural Press/Chronicle Books Warehouse and then are mailed out to newspaper and journal book reviewers (and one copy to me)!

Saturday, February 25, 2012, I spent the entire day with some Jones descendants whom I was meeting for the first time. They had a houseful of wonderful family memorabilia, documents, and photographs that I scanned for my Power Point presentation and next book. I actually held a little spoon and fork that belonged to Genevieve Jones as a young girl.

It was wonderful to meet another person who had spent time with his grandfather, Howard Jones, in the very rooms where the family lived and the book was created.

An amazing discovery!  The illustrations in the Howard Jones' copy have the names of the original artists and colorists hidden in the leaves or stems of each nest.  It has just been revealed that Howard Jones drew the nest of the Eastern Phoebe (Plate 10)!  Historically, that illustration has alway been attributed to Genevieve.  This new information means that Gennie only completed four illustrations before her death on August 17, 1879, and that Howard kept silent about his drawing all of his life. Why?

Breaking news!

The copy of Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of the Birds of Ohio that I have been searching for 15 years has surfaced! It was the personal copy of the author of the text for Nests and Eggs, Howard Jones, and contains all the original, artist-signed templates from which the colorists worked to hand -paint the illustrations in the other copies, in addition to one-of-a-kind paintings and hand-written accounts that are unique to this volume.

Its location will be revealed after the institution that acquired it through donation is ready to release the news to the public.

You are invited to the book launch party for

America's Other Audubon

 *Free and open to the public*

May 9, 2012
5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Baird Auditorium
  The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History

Washington, DC