The

A NewsletterTraveller of the Conference Spring, 2008 Bartram Art: Lost in Carolina me that he had lost track of these works’ whereabouts. He knew that they had lasted in the interpretive center for about ten years. A new manager assigned to the center by the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- neers removed the art, however, and made the display hall into a meeting room. Bob contacted Annette Carter, who had worked for the Corps. Her sleuthing led her to the McCormick County Histo- ry Center in Willington. In a last-minute rescue, the county historical commission had taken the pieces from the center and stored them in a defunct cotton gin where it hoped to start a museum, according to Sara Jungst, president of the historical society (not the commission). During continued on page 6

gusta. Standing alone, beside a table, was By Jim Kautz a statue shaped from an eight-inch wood plank. Painted on both sides, the life-size ob Russo traces the history of most of effigy showed William Bartram studying his art accurately and with pride: mu- a rabbit that lay on the table. A nearby seumsB and public buildings hold his work. plaque, showing Bartram seated with his His portrayals of William Bartram, once sketchbook beneath a tree, described the displayed at an interpretive center at the significance his explorations. Clarks Hill (now the Strom Thurmond) Bob says that he researched Bartram Dam in South Carolina, are an exception. in Philadelphia, found a Billy look-alike This art had a journey that resembles Wil- in Peachtree City, and used a road-killed liam Bartram’s brief plantation disaster of cottontail to get a correct rabbit. The im- 1766 more than his memorable treks of ages he has retained show Bartram as a the following decade. serious, sensitive student of nature. Pic- In 1985, Russo, who lives near Atlanta, tures of his other creations depict their won a commission to create works depict- scenes with a strong emphasis on their ing the history of the val- characters. The Indian family is laughing; ley between South Carolina and . one can almost hear the joke. “I wanted a Most of the art was to be in the form of humanity to come across,” says Bob, “so panels that showed, among others, scenes that visitors would see the art and say from Native American life, the Ameri- ‘that’s just like me.’” can Revolution, and colonial life in Au- When I met Bob last year, he told

1 Return to Bartram’s Garden: Still Travelling with Billy the Golden Evening-Primrose, th hen John Hall left his position at of a late 18 -century Creek woman com- seum at the University of West Alabama. Oenothera grandiflora the University Of Alabama Muse- plete with an authentic camp. Here he is organizing and opening a re- umW Of Natural History, he was not leav- After a few years, John took an inter- gional museum relating to the arts, cul- ing Billy Bartram. Indeed, Hall, who has est in Bartram and began impersonating ture and natural history of the Black Belt. By Joel T. Fry perfection in the open garden, sowing them- epitomized Bartram in scores of personal him. “I had read (Bartram) some years His projects include the establishment of Curator, Bartram’s Garden, Philadelphia selves as an indiginous Plant; but through appearances and lectures, was on his way before without realizing his charm or im- a Black Belt Garden—an arboretum and inattention we have lost it.” to an even richer involvement with the portance. Since I knew some of the same greenhouse devoted to the flora of the he 2007 Bartram Trail Conference By the early 19th century Oenothera “traveller.” natural history stuff, I figured he would be Black Belt. biennial meeting in Spanish Fort, grandiflora had found its way back under A lifelong teacher who has logged easy to research. He turned out, of course, John is also extending his role as a AlabamaT provided a unique opportunity cultivation at Bartram’s Garden, and it ap- three decades of service to Alabama’s to be wonderfully interesting and complex teacher. Under the sponsorship of the to re-introduce one of William Bartram’s pears in the 1807 Catalogue of the garden. citizens through his leadership in two and I have been following him around for Pebble Hill Humanities Initiative of Au- most beautiful plant discoveries to Bar- William’s pompous plant remained in the museums, John Hall has become known years.” burn University, he presents a William tram’s Garden in Philadelphia. family garden until about 1850, when for his personal reenactment of William John’s activities have hardly been lim- Bartram lecture at multiple venues across While en route to a day of canoeing on the last Bartram heirs, Ann and Robert Bartram. Garbed in the clothes of a Co- ited the Bartram or the Colonial period, the state. the Bartram Canoe Trail, BTC members Carr were forced to sell out. In spite of lonial explorer, he has carted chests, sacks, however. He has led excavations which “We were amazed at the response to discovered Bartram’s evening-primrose its beauty, Oenothera grandiflora does not and baskets into dozens of classrooms and have introduced scores of students to the the announcement (of the lectures),” says blooming on the road from Stockton to seem to have become a common garden lecture halls to display key findings of the methods and importance of archaeology. Hall. “The slots filled up in about two Rice Creek Landing. With the aid of a plant in the US, and it has not grown at 18th-century explorer and explain their In addition, he has written master exhibit weeks. I am taking the illustrated lecture trenching tool, I collected a healthy plant Bartram’s Garden for the last 150 years. It significance. plans for Museum of Natural History. to 13 Alabama organizations across the and took it to Philadelphia where it was is particularly fitting to obtain plant ma- It was at the Moundville Indian festi- His work included the master interpretive state. It is a pleasure to introduce Billy to bedded down for winter in the garden in terial from nearly the original type loca- the inhabitants give it a place in soups and val in the early 1980s where he first met plan for the site of Moundville, a major groups who are for the most part inter- front of the Bartram House. tion of William Bartram’s discovery. sauces.” This plant can now be identified as reenactors. “We all became interested in center of the on the ested, if unfamiliar with, the details of his William Bartram discovered the large- In general, more is known about the Cleome gyandra, cat’s whiskers or African the living history approach—a very effec- Black Warrior River in central Alabama. life and journey to Alabama.” flower evening-primrose, Oenothera gran- woody plants grown by the Bartram fam- spiderwisp, a plant widely cultivated in tive and powerful teaching strategy,” says At that park, he contributed a detailed de- John Hall has attended five meetings of diflora growing in rich old fields at Tensaw ily. As trees and shrubs were their major Africa as a pot herb and flavoring. Cleome Hall. John started out impersonating one sign of museum exhibits, Indian dioramas the Conference since the 1990s, allowing in early August 1775, on the Mobile-Ten- business, they are more often recorded in gyandra was certainly brought to North of ’s soldiers. His wife and more than a mile of nature trails. members of the Bartram Trail Confer- saw River Delta, in the vicinity of modern letters, plant lists and printed catalogues. America by enslaved Africans as part of Rosa (who then was one of his colleagues In 2004, he assumed the position of the ence to know him more intimately and Stockton. In Travels, Bartram described But William Bartram observed a number their preferred diet, and at least in this at the museum) later adopted the persona Director of the Black Belt Regional Mu- to appreciate his knowledge and fervor as the discovery as “a new species of the Oeno- of interesting herbaceous plants on his part of Louisiana it flourished. Like the a teacher of Bartram. They have followed thera… perhaps the most pompous and bril- travels, and a few made it back to Phila- evening-primrose and mimosa, William him around interpretive trails, listening to liant herbaceous plant yet known to exist.” delphia. Oenothera grandiflora is one of Bartram brought seed of this new cleome his vast knowledge of the flora and fauna William was clearly taken with this three interesting herbaceous plants from back to Philadelphia where it remained in of Alabama. For two recent meetings of flower. He collected seeds for Dr. Fo- the Gulf Coast that appear in later years cultivation while the Bartram family gar- the Conference, he has helped arrange thergill, which he sent from Mobile in at Bartram’s Garden. den lasted. flotillas of canoes for participants to trace late November 1775. He returned to his William Bartram collected a “singularly Late October proved to be a great time Bartram’s travels on waterways of the father’s garden in Philadelphia in January beautiful” plant on Pearl Island that he to gather seed in southern Alabama, and state. 1777 with additional seeds of the plant. called “Mimosa virgata” (now identified seeds of a number of Bartram plants were Bartram continues to charge John Oenothera grandiflora was one of William as Desmanthus illinoensis, prairie bundle- also gathered in a short time, all grow- Hall’s curiosity. “I wish I could have seen Bartram’s major botanic and horticultural flower). William was probably the first ing along D’Olive Creek, just behind the the southeast with him, especially with triumphs. William Bartram may have botanist to observe the plant. The mimosa Hampton Inn in Daphne (where a large my modern perspective of what things even coined the scientific name, Oeno- was brought back to Bartram’s Garden in alligator also basked in the late October have been most changed or lost. I would thera grandiflora. The seeds sent to Fo- 1777. In 1792 a plant of “Mimosa virgata” sun). These included yellow buckeye; Ala- like to have seen the Indians—particularly thergill and the seeds William planted at went to Mount Vernon for George Wash- bama supplejack;, yaupon; odorless bay- the Creeks, at the height of their powers. Bartram’s Garden both produced flower- ington. berry; wild olive; red bay; Carolina cherry I would love to see the canebrakes, now ing plants, and it appears that seeds from The third herbaceous plant William laurel; farkleberry, and others. These have a truly vanished landscape, and the Black Fothergill’s plants were eventually spread Bartram collected from the Gulf Coast been sown in sheltered locations at Bar- Belt prairie, fully grassed and flowered. I across Europe. In 1779 the Bartrams also was actually an introduced plant under tram’s Garden. Some of these plants are would love to see the longleaf coastal for- sent both seeds and plants of the new cultivation. “Near the mouth of the beautiful marginally hardy as far north as Philadel- est and the big trees in Georgia and in the plant to France. The original success with Taensapaoa” Bartram observed “a species phia. Mobile Delta. I want to be in his canoe in cultivation at Bartram’s Garden was short- of Cleome, (Cleome lupinifolia) this plant As did the Bartrams, we will see what John Hall (left) discusses the crown of a tree in the Weeks Bay Reserve in Alabama with Joel Fry. the Mobile Delta…I’ll even paddle!” 1 lived, and in 1788 William reported that possesses a very strong scent, somewhat like comes up. [At last look, the evening prim- the plants in Philadelphia “grew in equal Gum Assafetida, notwithstanding which rose has survived the winter unscathed.] 1

2 3 1763. The brochure provides detailed in- Bartram Trail Conference half of a regiment stationed in Mobile. formation on the Bartram connection of On the following morning, participants William Bartram in these plants and more, with passages from assembled in the center’s theater, where the Travels wherever appropriate. they heard a series of speakers. Dr. Greg Highlands, Bartram enthusiasts are invited to 2007 Biennial Meeting in Waselkov (University of South Alabama) come walk the HBS Bartram Trail at any portrayed the maps of the Colony of West time. The Station grounds are open to the Florida. He noted that the British allowed public year-round, dawn to dusk. Persons Spanish Fort, Alabama no legal settlements north of the planta- By James T. Costa, Executive Director, planning a trip should note that the High- tion of Major Farmar, not far upstream Highlands Biological Station lands Nature Center museum is open sea- October 26–28, 2007 from Mobile. sonally, May through October. Next time Tom Hallock (University of South illiam Bartram has come to High- you’re hiking Section 1 of the NC Bar- ights appeared in the buildings of ence and their guests sat back to listen Florida, St. Petersburg) spoke about lands, North Carolina at last…in tram Trail, take a detour east when you Mobile, less than ten miles across to Dr. Robin Fabel, Professor Emeritus “William Bartram: A Life in Letters.” spirit,W at least. Bartram never ascended cross Highway 106: at that point you’re Lthe bay from the Five Rivers Center in of History at Auburn University and the In his letters, said Hallock, Bartram dis- the Blue Ridge Escarpment on his cel- just a few miles from Highlands and the Spanish Fort, Alabama. On the waterside leading authority on British West Florida. cussed topics of botany and public affairs ebrated trek into the southern mountains. Biological Station. Our “charming circle deck, clusters of Bartram followers cast Dr. Fabel described life in the colony that and gave a chronology of his activity, but He passed to the south through the South of mountain vegetable beauties” awaits a parting look at the full moon breaking William Bartram explored during his his writing was not intimate. We get an Carolina upland and then turned north you! over the pines that border the marsh and 1775 journey through Alabama and Lou- idea of his “behind-the-scenes” influence, along the Little River to Cowee The Highlands Biological Station is strolled into the dining room. Cheerful isiana. The British crown had taken over but no real insight into his psyche. and the Jore (Nantahala) mountains, not an interinstitutional Center of the Uni- conversations began over seafood-laden the colony from the French just twelve John Hall’s lively discussion on botani- far from present-day Franklin, North versity of North Carolina perched on the plates. Old friends and newcomers dipped years earlier. The six thousand Europeans cal nomenclature explained why Bartram Carolina. Other explorers of the day, like Blue Ridge at an elevation of nearly 4,000 gumbo from their bowls and exchanged and Africans living there were outnum- got credit for discovering some plants and André Michaux, got a bit closer (notably, feet. As a research and educational center, greetings and pleasantries. bered by Indians. “It was a rough place to why he may not have been credited with Michaux found mountain pepperbush, the Highlands Biological Station offers a “Great to see you again.” live,” said Fabel. “No place for aristocrats.” others that he discovered. Clethra acuminata, between Cashiers and diversity of field-oriented courses and “How did you get interested in Bar- Planters were largely men who had served Joel Fry focused on Bartram’s Evening Highlands, NC). Bartram would have workshops in the summer months that tram?” in the French and Indian War. Many were Primrose, the Oenothera grandiflora, relished the stunning vistas and towering Bartramites might find of interest; see “You are from Huntsville, I see.” absentee recipients of land grants who which Bartram discovered on his trip up forests of the Highlands plateau, a land- www.wcu.edu/hbs for this year’s offerings “I grew up right on the Bartram Trail. sent surrogates to grow indigo and tobac- the Tensaw Delta. Jim Kautz closed the scape that recalls many memorable pas- Bartram exhibits in the Highlands Nature and application information. See www. But I didn’t know about him until I was co and to harvest timber, turpentine and morning’s session by discussing “What I sages from Travels. Center. wcu.edu/hbs/Naturecenter.htm for hours in college.” pitch for ship stores. Houses were mod- Learned by Following William Bartram Visitors to Highlands now revel in the of operation of the nature center. “Long drive from St. Augustine.” est; many had dirt floors. There were no across the South and into the Tensaw.” spirit of William Bartram by walking a woods to wetlands. Other plants on the An abbreviated PDF version of its Bar- “This is my first meeting.” plantation mansions. Not a single church A bus waiting in the parking lot car- trail that allows them to enjoy an array of trail are found in the Station’s tram Trail map is available at www.wcu. When they had filled themselves, the was built in the eighteen years of British ried the group to the Weeks Bay Estua- botanical treasures assembled on the cam- garden, a fitting intersection of William edu/hbs/Bartram.htm. 1 members of the Bartram Trail Confer- rule. Disease ran rampant, killing almost rine Research Reserve, where a stroll on pus of the Highlands Biological Station. Bartram with select plants of significance the boardwalk took them into a wetland In his hundreds of miles of exploration to the native people he befriended on his forest on the edge of Mobile Bay before in the southeast, Bartram discovered, de- journey. they rode farther south to the Bon Secour scribed, and often rhapsodized over many The HBS Bartram Trail begins at the National Wildlife Refuge. On their return lovely native plant species. Devotees of Highlands Nature Center, located at 930 trip, they enjoyed an evening walk through the Travels eager to see many of Bartram’s Horse Cove Road, just a half-mile from the Weeks Bay pitcher plant bog. “vegetable beauties” would ordinarily have downtown Highlands, NC. In the Na- Canoes waited at the Rice Creek land- to cover nearly as much ground as the ture Center, visitors can view a small ing on Sunday morning. Escorted by Jer- Philadelphian himself to do so. Now they exhibit about William Bartram and his emy Doss, Conservation Enforcement can visit the Highlands Biological Station explorations in the area, and pick up an Officer for the Tensaw Delta, the mem- and see thirty native species with a sig- illustrated map and brochure of the HBS bers paddled a portion of the Bartram nificant connection to William Bartram Bartram Trail. The map shows the way Canoe Trail. On a falling tide, they made and/or his father John. Upland plants to a nice cross section of Bartram species, their way into a shallow creek in the heart mix with piedmont species on this “Bar- from those that occur locally, like Fraser’s of the delta where they waded through tram Trail” that meanders throughout the (or Mountain) magnolia, sweetshrub, ankle-deep water to view the largest bald grounds of the Station. flame azalea, and mountain camellia, to cypress in the state. The trail weaves in and out of the sev- hardy lowland beauties like Chickasaw Congratulations and heartfelt thanks eral native plant gardens on the campus, plum, large-flowered evening primrose, go to Kathryn Braund, planner of the bi- including the Highlands Botanical Gar- and golden St. Johnswort. There is even a ennial meeting of the Bartram Trail Con- den, an approximately 11-acre garden fea- coastal species — the venus fly trap. This ference, for a most memorable and suc- turing over 500 labeled native plants in a North Carolina lowland endemic was first cessful event. Our thanks also go to the diversity of natural habitats, from upland conveyed to Europe by John Bartram in Participants in the Bartram Trail Conference meeting, October 2007, study the plants of the Weeks Alabama Five Rivers Conference Center Bay Reserve in Alabama. for hosting us. 1

4 5 As the sun was setting, however, more Biography alligators appeared. William Bartram was attacked on all sides, several alliga- tors trying to overturn his canoe. He had Carolyn Whitmer Alligator Night landed more than enough fish for dinner, arden club members have led and By Nancy Rohr but now to return to his campsite. One old supported the Bartram Trail Con- daring one, about twelve feet in length, kept ference.G Carolyn Whitmer of Pensacola, n the very early spring, the serenity of close to me, and when I stepped on shore and Florida epitomizes their connection and our campground in the lake country turned about, in order to draw up my canoe, importance. Iof Florida exploded late one Friday af- he rushed up near my feet. Maybe it was a Carolyn’s association with William ternoon. Twenty-five Boy Scouts will do good thing the boys didn’t have canoes after Bartram began in 1985, when she worked that. As the early evening progressed, it all, I mentioned. and traveled with Van Blanchard to con- was clear the feckless male leaders had The reading continued through the al- duct four “Bartram Footprints” tours little control over their youthful charges. ligator feeding frenzy and the bears. Yet sponsored by the Florida Federation of The boys complained there was nothing in the morning Bartram awoke to perfect Garden Clubs. These tours, one every to see or do, not even a canoe to put into peace. two years, spanned the extent of William the nearby ponds or . After their reader suggested it might Bartram’s journeys from Florida to North Supper appeared to go all right. Once now be a good time to move their sleep- Carolina and as far as the Mississippi the beans and franks were gulped down, ing bags a little closer together, the boys, River. They included a trip to Bartram’s marshmallows burning away on sticks ground to make his camp. Had the boys avoiding looking out into the gathering Garden in Philadelphia. appeared everywhere. Tents had been set chosen high ground? Although the boys darkness, went to bed, but perhaps not to Moved by the “great legacy of the up, but the boys decided they would sleep had walked in, Bartram had arrived by sleep, right away. beauty of our land” that William Bartram Ed Cashin with Dot Jones in Wrightsborough during the 2005 Bartram Trail Beiennial Conference. out under the stars. Bedrolls were laid out himself in a small boat. His evening was We also awoke to perfect peace. provided through his writings and draw- neatly in a tidy circle. No one was allowed cool and calm, too. Those boys made the acquaintance of ings, she became committed to encourag- within 12 inches of each other’s space. Bartram prepared his campfire and had William Bartram and the real backwoods ing others to know of his contributions. Missed: Edward J. Cashin At a late hour, we saw no sign of slow- a good amount of wood for the night. of Florida that night. In the morning as Carolyn’s environmental activism ex- ing, much less settling down. We oldsters Had the boys gathered enough firewood we passed the campsite to walk, there, all tends beyond gardens. She worked to save By Kathryn Braund BTC members will fondly remember Dr. were wearing out just watching from our to keep away the dark – and any other tangled and huddled together as close as the Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie near President, Bartram Trail Conference Cashin and his wife Mary Ann as the orga- site. things? William Bartram had few sup- they could get to one another, to us they Pensacola. This effort resulted in the ac- n September 2007, the Bartram Trail nizers and hosts of the 2005 BTC confer- Nothing seemed to interest the boys plies and realized he would need to go looked like –what else – nestling baby al- quisition of about 4000 acres (including Conference lost a loyal friend with the ence in Augusta. A long-time member and as their leaders tried to explain the plant back out in his boat to fish for trout for ligators. one of the last undeveloped bayous of the Ideath of Dr. Edward Joseph Cashin, Jr. Dr. supporter of the BTC, he once quipped, “I and animal life of the great outdoors. “So his evening meal. He admired the flow- Nancy Rohr is a Bartram Trail Confer- state) by the Florida State Park System. Cashin died suddenly in Atlanta while do- would do anything for Bartram.” Indeed, what?” seemed their only reaction. ering plants and shrubs and the laughing ence member who lives in Huntsville, Al- All of her four children are involved in ing research for a book. he would do anything to support the study Out from the dark of the nearby lake coots. Did the boys see many coots this abama. Her story is one of a series of sto- environmental activities, some as profes- Born in Augusta in 1927, Dr. Cashin and preservation of early Georgia history came a bellow that defied the city boys’ evening? ries of members’ visits to Bartram sites. 1 sionals. devoted his life to the study of Georgia and lent assistance to anyone who asked. experiences. The first roar hardly got their Just as Bartram thought he would snare A registered nurse by profession, Caro- history. He joined the faculty of Augusta At the BTC meeting in 2005, Dr. Cashin’s attention, but after one retort was fol- a trout, an enormous, greedy alligator ap- Readers are invited to send their stories lyn joined a garden club in Cherry Point, State University (then Augusta College) in work on behalf of Bartram and Augusta’s lowed by more of the same, each louder peared. In a flash, the monster’s enormous to Jim Kautz at [email protected] or North Carolina in 1966. When her hus- 1969. He retired in 1996 and then served history, as well as his encouragement of than the first, a hush fell upon the boys. body swelled. His tail sailed into the air, 204 Weatherstone Pkwy. Marietta, GA band deployed to Viet Nam in 1968, she as the founding director of the Center for historic preservation, was evident at every An adult “just happened” to be passing. water poured from his open mouth, and 30068. moved back to her birth state of Florida the Study of Georgia History. event. She “just happened” to have her copy of smoke came from his nostrils. Now was and joined the garden club in Pensacola. An outstanding teacher and a productive Ed Cashin was an accomplished scholar Bartram in hand and offered to give the the time to read---I had them. As her involvement in club activities and and highly respected scholar, Dr. Cashin with many awards and honors to his credit. leaders a break. (Mothers are undaunted The earth trembles with his thunder. her reputation as an activist grew, she was the author of numerous books, in- He was a gracious gentleman whose infec- by a band of bug-eyed, sticky-fingered, When immediately from the opposite coast Lost in Carolina, continued from page 1 was elected to the Florida Federation of cluding William Bartram and the American tious enthusiasm and dedication to history smeary-mouthed, shrieking boys.) All of the lagoon, emerges from the deep his ri- the two years of commission ownership, Garden Clubs State Board of Directors Revolution on the Southern Frontier. He also leaves a solid legacy to his beloved com- campers in Florida take their Peterson for val champion. They suddenly dart upon each someone painted over some of the pieces, in1985 and remains on the board. She provided the entry on William Bartram for munity of Augusta as well as all of us who birding, and some few know not to leave other. The boiling surface of the lake marks and water damaged others. The histori- has been Florida’s Bartram Trails Marker the on-line New Georgia Encyclopedia. value early southern history. 1 Bartram behind. their rapid course, and a terrific conflict com- cal society then took over the remaining Chairman for more than fifteen years. One single traveler, I explained to mences. They now sink to the bottom folded pieces and displayed them in its new mu- A writer, photographer and painter, she the boys, had experienced the very same together…the water becomes thick and discol- seum. has edited The Florida Gardener, work- sounds from this outback more than two ored. Again they rise, their jaws clap together, Unfortunately, the painted wood panel ing for 12 years as Assistant Editor and r. Martha Condray Searcy passed Florida Contest in the American Revolution, hundred years ago. Palm trees and pal- re-echoing through the deep surrounding for- of Bartram and the small plaque appear to 6 years as Editor. Presently, she is Corre- away in August 2007. Dr. Searcy 1776-1778, published in 1985. She was metto abounded along the St. Johns River ests. be among the pieces that were lost. They sponding Secretary of the Federation and Dheld the Ph.D. in history from Tulane passionate about her subject and a charm- even then. Hadn’t the boys seen them to- That sound—was it not like the sounds remain only in prints filed in the artist’s has worked with its Youth Nature Camp University and spent much of her pro- ing lady whose knowledge of the southern day? The orange groves and live oaks were they had just heard from the outback? I studio, and in the memories of those tour- at Wekiva Springs State Park. fessional career at the University of Ala- backcountry was formidable. Dr. Searcy, a here, too, in between the swampy lands. continued to read as the rival was van- ists who learned of Bartram at the inter- Carolyn has attended four BTC meet- bama, Huntsville. She is best-known for long-time BTC member, was retired and William Bartram looked for the high quished and peace seemed to be restored. pretive center. 1 ings since 1987. 1 her ground-breaking study, The Georgia- living in Mobile at the time of her death.

6 7 ten randomly scattered through text, only rather vague assumptions and specula- And then I thought of the pitcher plant Book Review rarely illustrating points in the biographi- tions. She asserts: “John Bartram never President’s Notes bog and the majesty of nature there—so Judith Magee, The Art and Science of William Bartram. The Pennsylva- cal narrative. To a large extent the text and recorded his views on slavery” (p. 73) and different from the wide-open vista of the illustrations of this book are mutually ex- “in the mid-1760s, when John Bartram hat GREAT FUN! I think that Tensaw and yet complex and mysterious nia State University Press, University Park, PA, in association with the clusive, and perhaps this is more the fault was purchasing slaves for William, he was the general impression from and beautiful in that wondrous way that Natural History Museum, London, 2007, 264 pages, color illustrations. of the design and editing of the volume may not have been exposed to the anti- everyoneW who traveled down to “the Ten- Bartram understood so well. And then, than the author’s. slavery sentiments that were to become saw.” Many thanks again to Hank Burch there was the absolute delight of hear- The book is riddled with rather obvious so widespread a decade later.” (p. 74) Nei- and the Five Rivers staff, John Jackson ing shouts from John and Rosa Hall to Joel T. Fry, Curator, Bartram’s Garden, Museum. It fails to mention the sizable errors in fact and spelling. For example, ther of these statements is entirely true. and the Baldwin County Archives and “PULL OVER” as we were on route to Philadelphia collections of William Bartram’s art in the page 27 records John Bartram meeting Magee includes a number of quotes from History, and the Baldwin County Com- the canoe launch. And what a reason to libraries of the Earl of Derby at Know- “John Byrd” in 1738, a member of the William Bartram’s “Commonplace Book” mission for their gracious welcome and pull off the road! There, still glorious in udith Magee’s long-awaited publication sley Hall in the UK, and the American Royal Society of London, living in Vir- (pp. 72, 89, 91, 202, 212, etc), but clearly wonderful support. And thanks again to the autumn morning, was a clump of eve- on the collection of William Bartram’s Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. ginia. This is apparently a combination of never examined the original manuscript. Randy Mecredy and the Alabama Mu- ning primrose. I know that the Franklinia Jartwork at the Natural History Museum Bartram produced the materials at the William Byrd and John Custis, both of The quotes are all taken secondhand from seum of Natural History for the canoes, gets all the attention. But boy, that little in London is finally available. Magee, a Natural History Museum in a relatively whom Bartram met in Williamsburg in some of Slaughter’s most egregious fab- and to Beth Motherwell of the University flower from south Alabama has got to be long-time botany librarian at the Natural short time (ca. 1768-1776), with four the fall of 1738. Louisa Ulrika Drotting rications in The Natures of John and Wil- of Alabama Press for the fantastic book one of the most beautiful wildflowers in History Museum and currently Collec- additional drawings prepared for Robert was the Queen of Sweden, not the Queen liam Bartram. Regrettably, Magee returns display. the entire region—and certainly remains tions Development Manager in the library, Barclay in 1788. This was a very produc- of Holland. William Bartram attended again and again to quote Slaughter’s fic- It was a special pleasure to see longtime one of Bartram’s most famous botanical is intimately familiar with the 68 original tive time in William Bartram’s life as an the Philadelphia Academy from January tion. William Bartram deserves a factual Bartram Trail supporters like Shirley and discoveries. And we saw it growing prac- drawings by William Bartram housed at artist, but hardly represents the important 1752 though July 1755, not 1754-1756. and authentic biography based on his ac- Pierre Thompson (St. Augustine, Florida), tically on the same site Bartram found the museum. The bulk of these drawings Bartram family dates and genealogical tual life, but it may already be too late to Louis and Rosalyn De Vorsey (Athens, it—how great is that? But discussing the were once owned by William’s patron, Dr. references are often incorrect. prune away the mythology that has grown Georgia) and Davida Hastie (Stockton, primrose sighting, I started to think back John Fothergill, and forty-three of them A number of biographical errors in The up around him. Alabama). And to visit with the folks who on the wonderful papers we heard on top- were completed during William’s travels Art and Science of William Bartram can Fundamentally, The Art and Science of had stepped up over the past few years to ics ranging from eighteenth-century West in the South. be attributed to a too strict dependence William Bartram is a coffee table book, strengthen the organization and renew Florida and cartography to science to Most of this collection was previously on prior authors and secondary sources, but it is flawed even in this role. Rarely our collective commitment to preserving Bartram’s literary impact. How to choose published by Joseph Ewan in his classic particularly Joseph Ewan and Thomas are the illustrations reproduced at better the “Bartram heritage” of celebration and what was “THE BEST” part of it? folio edition, William Bartram Botani- Slaughter. Magee unfortunately con- than half-page size and, as the book de- stewardship. It was equally pleasing to And then I knew --- it was the cal and Zoological Drawings, 1756-1788 tinues the trend of highly fictionalized, sign uses very generous margins, the art is see new converts too—more than I can “WHOLE THING.” Friends and fel- (Philadelphia: American Philosophi- psychological biography for William Bar- often lost on the page. With minor rede- name in this short space. lowship, plants and snakes and birds and cal Society, 1968). Ewan’s edition was a tram begun by Marjory Sanger in Billy sign, most of the illustrations could have As we were driving home, I tried to de- giant cypress trees and sun on the water landmark in Bartram scholarship, and re- Bartram and His Green World in 1972, and been enlarged 25 percent or more without cide what had been “THE BEST” thing and seeing the site of early colonial set- mains a fundamental reference for anyone continued by Slaughter in The Natures of increasing the overall size of the volume. about the conference. My first thought tlements. It was traveling together with researching the botanic careers of John John and William Bartram in 1996. As an The book also includes examples from a was the canoe ride (or race if you were in laughter and joy in commemoration of and William Bartram, or their garden in example Magee repeats the myth perpe- variety of other 18th- and 19th-century the canoe with my husband). It was won- William Bartram’s journey. Our Tensaw Philadelphia. Magee’s book, The Art and trated by Slaughter that William Bartram natural history artists including Mark derful to watch everyone—from the most adventure was really a testament that our Science of William Bartram, cannot com- gave away his own personal, “special copy” Catesby, Georg Ehret, John James Audu- experienced canoeist to the novices— commitment to the Bartram heritage con- pare with Ewan’s work, but that does not of Travels to William Hamilton of The bon, and Titian Ramsay Peale (all from master the art of enjoying the water with- cept --- preservation of our natural world mean it is without merits of its own. Ma- Woodlands in 1799. It is true that Bar- the collections of the Natural History out a motor. I doubt that there was ever a and celebration of our historical legacy --- gee provides a light, but readable, narra- tram gave Hamilton a copy of his book Museum). These are good both for back- more beautiful day for a canoe float on the is indeed worthwhile and worth a little tive of William Bartram’s life, highlighted productions of his long career. with 8 extra, large-sized engraved illustra- ground and comparison to Bartram’s art, Tensaw—just a glorious day with good travel. And that is the “BEST THING” with state-of-the art color reproductions Magee provides little that is new or tions and a hand-written errata at the rear, and perhaps a third of the illustrations in fellowship and nature’s beauty envelop- for any Bartram devotee. 1 of William’s art. This book will certainly different in assessing William’s life. Her but this is not the only “special copy” of the book are by other artists. These pieces ing our convivial band of fluvial travelers. Kathryn H. Braund, President satisfy readers who want to be immersed primary contribution is the discovery Travels that is known. from other artists are not particularly well in William Bartram’s skill in depicting and publication of three long-lost draw- Magee is led astray by Joseph Ewan distinguished from the pieces by Wil- nature, and it will also raise public aware- ings that were sent by Bartram to Barclay when she repeats the claim that B. S. liam Bartram, and many are reproduced ness of this still too-neglected American in the fall of 1788. These finely finished Barton’s Collections for an essay towards as large as or larger than Bartram’s art, Florida Heritage marker, set in artist. drawings illustrate some of Bartram’s a Materia Medica of 1798 was based on and used in section breaks, chapter heads, 2004 at the eastern foot of the Magee’s biographical narrative breaks major southern discoveries—Oakleaf William Bartram’s manuscript “Pharma- etc. A casual reader might assume all the ShandsA Bridge across the St. Johns no new ground, however. It depends on Hydrangea, Fever Bark, and Evening copoeia.” There is absolutely no connec- works are by William. It is not obvious River near Green Cove Springs earlier biographical treatments, backed Primrose. They accompanied William’s tion between Barton’s Collections and Bar- that the designers of the volume realized and Picolata, marks William Bar- with a rather standard account of the rise much-reproduced masterwork, the 1788 tram’s “Pharmacopoeia.” William Bartram was the main subject of tram’s 1766 plantation. Research by of the natural sciences in England and drawing of Franklinia. Magee attempts to say something on the book. In the end it seems a wonder Daniel Schafer of the University of Europe in the 18th century. Throughout the book William Bar- the attitudes of John and William Bar- that a book entitled The Art and Science of North Florida located the site of Bartram’s unfortunate venture near As a survey of William’s life as an art- tram’s drawings are not presented in tram towards slavery, but does not include William Bartram could devote such little 1 ist, the book provides a view of only the chronological sequence, or in the original much in the way of primary documents space to his art. 1 this spot. Bartram collection at the Natural History sets as prepared by Bartram. They are of- to aid her discussion and winds up with

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