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June Issue 2004
Carolina Antique Maps and Prints in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Mark Catesby
The works of Mark Catesby will be featured in the exhibit, The Curious Mister Catesby, on view at Carolina Antique Maps and Prints LLC in Charleston, SC, through June 15, 2004.
Catesby's Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands was the first natural history of American flora and fauna. First issued between 1731 and 1743, this work would eventually include 220 prints, which for the first time systematically illustrated American birds, animals and plants. Following his studies in South Carolina and a year in the Bahamas, Catesby returned to England. There he spent the next two decades writing, engraving and publishing his Natural History of the Carolinas,Florida and the Bahama Islands. It was not only the first fully-illustrated natural history of North America, but also a major contribution to both art and science.
Catesby was recognized for his work by election as a Fellow of the Royal Society. Published by subscription, only about 160 copies of the first edition were printed of which perhaps 80 remain, mostly in libraries and museums, such as the Smithsonian Institution.
Laura Vardell, a Mark Catesby enthusiast, has recently purchased the gallery she has managed for several years. The Curious Mister Catesby will be the grand opening exhibit of Carolina Antique Maps & Prints LLC. The exhibit will be entirely focused on Mark Catesby's art both his engravings and the Alecto facsimiles of the original watercolors at Windsor Castle. A portion of her sales during this event will be contributed to the Catesby Commemorative Trust.
For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 843/722-4773 or e-mail at (lvardell@earthlink.net).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.