By Foot

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A map from Forty Etchings

Forty Etchings, from Sketches Made with the Camera Lucida, in North America, in 1827 and 1828. Edinburgh: Cadell & Co., [1829].

The nineteenth century saw the rise of travel narratives, as both European and American travelers alike explored the burgeoning cities and vast wilderness of the new world. Such firsthand accounts today provide researchers with information regarding flora and fauna, native populations, economic conditions, and potential avenues of trade.

An early reprographic process, known as Camera Lucida, which was an aid to artists, enabled Hall to supplement his writings and to preserve his memories as evidenced by the supplementary volume of views present here.

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Page from The Foresters

Alexander Wilson (1766-1813).
The Foresters: A Poetic Account of a Walking Journey to the Falls of Niagara in the Autumn of 1804; with wood engravings by Wesley W. Bates.  Newtown, Pa.: Bird & Bull Press, 2000.



Born in Scotland where he was apprenticed as a weaver, Wilson emigrated to America in 1794, settling near Philadelphia where he engaged in literary, scientific, and artistic pursuits. It was Wilson's acquaintance with the naturalist William Bartram that inspired him to study the birds of America. Commonly regarded as the "Father of American Ornithology," Wilson described approximately 280 species identified on his travels throughout the country.
 

This edition is one of 150 copies printed at the Bird & Bull Press in June, 2000. Special Collections also holds a copy of the first edition of this text, published in 1828, which appears accompanying Audubon’s Birds of America on the first floor.

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A picture from A Thousand-mile Walk to the Gulf

John Muir (1838-1914).
A Thousand-mile Walk to the Gulf. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1916.


Naturalist John Muir, best known for his efforts to preserve America’s scenic beauty and establish the National Parks system, also helped document the Florida coast by contributing to the body of literature about its natural resources. The frontispiece shown here depicts “A Florida Sunset” from a water-color by Amelia M. Watson.

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Title page from Travels in North America

Basil Hall (1788-1844).
Travels in North America in the Years 1827 and 1828. Edinburgh: Cadell and Co., 1829.

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Title page from A Journey through Texas

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903).
A Journey through Texas: or, A Saddle-trip on the Southwestern Frontier; with a Statistical Appendix. New York: Mason Brothers, 1860, c1857.


The architect of New York’s Central Park left his mark on other aspects of the American landscape, including the southwest.