Tuesday, January 13, 2009
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new documentary film, The Curious Mister Catesby
Date:  Tue, 23 Dec 2008

I have just seen an advance copy of a new documentary film --"The
Curious Mister Catesby"  -- and thought anyone interested in Caribbean
history would be interested to know about it.

The film is about the naturalist-artist, Mark Catesby, who--long before
Audubon--was exploring the Caribbean and North America and documenting
American plants and animals in the  gorgeous hand-colored engravings of
his "Natural History of Carolina, Florida and The Bahama Islands."

When 18th century Europeans and Americans talked about North American
wildlife, it was Catesby's images they had in their mind's eye
(Jefferson studied his copy with care.)

A good section of film is devoted to the complex publication history of
Catesby's book--with many splendid shots of the Smithsonian's copy and
his original drawings, which were re-discovered in Windsor Castle just
a decade ago.

I've got my own scholarly and curatorial reasons for finding the film
absorbing: Linnaeus and Pehr Kalm, the heroes of my exhibition at the
NJ State Museum, had both met and learned much from Catesby.

But the documentary is such an engaging combination of
history, art, science, and natural history footage that I think
anyone who is  interested in Caribbean and Atlantic studies, colonial
America, and 18th century studies (not to mention birds, medicinal
plants, Native Americans, exploration, nature, or the environment)
would be excited by it. I am sure it would be good in teaching and
public programs.

The film's website, http://www.catesbytrust.org, has snippets of the
film and sample audio, information about Catesby's life, some of his
illustrations, and order information (I just noticed they've got a
special deal on for the holidays).

I gather "The Curious Mister Catesby" will be shown on public
television stations around the country at different times  -- but why
wait and risk missing it?

With all best wishes of the season,
Karen

Karen Reeds, PhD, FLS  karen.reeds@verizon.net
Guest Curator, Come into a New World: Linnaeus & America
American Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia, February 15-July 1,
2007
Now showing at New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ,  through
Saturday Jan. 3, 2009
http://www.americanswedish.org/,
http://www.americanswedish.org/linnaeus.htm
http://www.nj.gov/state/museum/see_come-into-new-world.htm
Exhibition guide available from
http://www.dianepublishing.net/category_s/490.htm (p.4)


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