History of Ornithology
@stampden.bsky.social
Exploring the life and times of ornithologists and ornithological institutions in the 19th and early 20th centuries, through the lens of postal artifacts in my collection.
Pinned
It's 2025 and welcome to a new year of #History of #Ornithology, in which we explore the lives of ornithologists in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Unlike most conventional histories however, our stories are constructed through the lens of Social Philately. But what is Social #Philately? /1
Christmas Greetings!
(1/3) This cover, bearing Smithsonian Institution and Washington, D.C., datestamps dated 1 May 1855, originally enclosed a letter from Spencer Fullerton Baird, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to his young protégé, Robert Kennicott (1835–66).
#ornithology
(1/3) This cover, bearing Smithsonian Institution and Washington, D.C., datestamps dated 1 May 1855, originally enclosed a letter from Spencer Fullerton Baird, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to his young protégé, Robert Kennicott (1835–66).
#ornithology
December 24, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Christmas Greetings!
(1/3) This cover, bearing Smithsonian Institution and Washington, D.C., datestamps dated 1 May 1855, originally enclosed a letter from Spencer Fullerton Baird, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to his young protégé, Robert Kennicott (1835–66).
#ornithology
(1/3) This cover, bearing Smithsonian Institution and Washington, D.C., datestamps dated 1 May 1855, originally enclosed a letter from Spencer Fullerton Baird, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to his young protégé, Robert Kennicott (1835–66).
#ornithology
(1/3) In January 1913, Theodore Tripp Young (1854–1930), Superintendent of Schools of Saco, Maine, received this cover from publisher Charles Keller Reed, Worcester, Massachusetts, illustrated with Reed's ornithological (and botanical) publications.
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
October 14, 2025 at 11:09 AM
(1/3) In January 1913, Theodore Tripp Young (1854–1930), Superintendent of Schools of Saco, Maine, received this cover from publisher Charles Keller Reed, Worcester, Massachusetts, illustrated with Reed's ornithological (and botanical) publications.
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
(1/3) In our final thread on the life of Charles Frank Morrison, we review his contributions to #ornithology. Although this postcard shows he identified as a naturalist & taxidermist in 1883 (likely earlier), his first published notes and articles appear in 1884, in The Ornithologist and Oologist.
(1/3) On first inspection, this postcard requesting John Krider’s "catalogue of Eggs, Nests, Artificial Eyes Set" appears to have been sent by a "Naturalist and Taxidermist" from Derry Depot, NH, perhaps on a collecting trip or relocating to the Western Frontier, but...
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
October 7, 2025 at 4:04 AM
(1/3) In our final thread on the life of Charles Frank Morrison, we review his contributions to #ornithology. Although this postcard shows he identified as a naturalist & taxidermist in 1883 (likely earlier), his first published notes and articles appear in 1884, in The Ornithologist and Oologist.
(1/3) Continued...
The reason for Morrison's enlistment in the US Army is unknown, seemingly at odds with the postcard signaling an intention to settle in Derry Depot in the 1880s. Could his decision have been related to his father’s divorce to marry a girl 21 years his junior?
The reason for Morrison's enlistment in the US Army is unknown, seemingly at odds with the postcard signaling an intention to settle in Derry Depot in the 1880s. Could his decision have been related to his father’s divorce to marry a girl 21 years his junior?
(3/3) In July 1880, in St. Louis, Missouri, where his father was teaching music, Charles enlisted with the US Army (pic), and was posted to the 5th Cavalry Regiment Band. For the rest of his life he lived on the Western Frontier, investing his free time in the local ornithology.
To be continued...
To be continued...
October 3, 2025 at 7:15 AM
(1/3) Continued...
The reason for Morrison's enlistment in the US Army is unknown, seemingly at odds with the postcard signaling an intention to settle in Derry Depot in the 1880s. Could his decision have been related to his father’s divorce to marry a girl 21 years his junior?
The reason for Morrison's enlistment in the US Army is unknown, seemingly at odds with the postcard signaling an intention to settle in Derry Depot in the 1880s. Could his decision have been related to his father’s divorce to marry a girl 21 years his junior?
Reposted by History of Ornithology
(1/3) On first inspection, this postcard requesting John Krider’s "catalogue of Eggs, Nests, Artificial Eyes Set" appears to have been sent by a "Naturalist and Taxidermist" from Derry Depot, NH, perhaps on a collecting trip or relocating to the Western Frontier, but...
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
September 25, 2025 at 11:24 PM
(1/3) On first inspection, this postcard requesting John Krider’s "catalogue of Eggs, Nests, Artificial Eyes Set" appears to have been sent by a "Naturalist and Taxidermist" from Derry Depot, NH, perhaps on a collecting trip or relocating to the Western Frontier, but...
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
(1/3) On first inspection, this postcard requesting John Krider’s "catalogue of Eggs, Nests, Artificial Eyes Set" appears to have been sent by a "Naturalist and Taxidermist" from Derry Depot, NH, perhaps on a collecting trip or relocating to the Western Frontier, but...
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
September 25, 2025 at 11:24 PM
(1/3) On first inspection, this postcard requesting John Krider’s "catalogue of Eggs, Nests, Artificial Eyes Set" appears to have been sent by a "Naturalist and Taxidermist" from Derry Depot, NH, perhaps on a collecting trip or relocating to the Western Frontier, but...
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
(1/3) On 3 Nov 1883, the outlaw "Black Bart" committed his final stagecoach robbery in California, while in Virginia, 5 men were gunned down in a racially motivated attack on the streets of Danville. In Wyoming territory, this postcard was sent to John Krider of Philadelphia.
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
September 22, 2025 at 8:05 AM
(1/3) On 3 Nov 1883, the outlaw "Black Bart" committed his final stagecoach robbery in California, while in Virginia, 5 men were gunned down in a racially motivated attack on the streets of Danville. In Wyoming territory, this postcard was sent to John Krider of Philadelphia.
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
(1/3) This 1922 postcard advertises the third annual bulletin of the Essex County Ornithological Club (ECOC), issued annually from 1919 to 1938. Founded in 1916, the ECOC traced its origins to Ipswich River canoe surveys begun in 1907.
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
September 17, 2025 at 11:19 AM
(1/3) This 1922 postcard advertises the third annual bulletin of the Essex County Ornithological Club (ECOC), issued annually from 1919 to 1938. Founded in 1916, the ECOC traced its origins to Ipswich River canoe surveys begun in 1907.
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
1/3) This Feb 28, 1939 cover was sent from the Musée Royal d’Histoire Naturelle de Belgique, Brussels, to J. Hatting in Copenhagen. Enclosed: a bilingual (French/Dutch) form letter for reporting bird ring recoveries.
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
September 12, 2025 at 8:52 PM
1/3) This Feb 28, 1939 cover was sent from the Musée Royal d’Histoire Naturelle de Belgique, Brussels, to J. Hatting in Copenhagen. Enclosed: a bilingual (French/Dutch) form letter for reporting bird ring recoveries.
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
1/3) in 1863, in the third year of the American Civil War, taxidermist & natural history dealer John Akhurst (1815–1902) received this cover from the Smithsonian Institution at 9½ Prospect St., Brooklyn, NY, his combined home & business since 1847.
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
August 30, 2025 at 11:00 AM
1/3) in 1863, in the third year of the American Civil War, taxidermist & natural history dealer John Akhurst (1815–1902) received this cover from the Smithsonian Institution at 9½ Prospect St., Brooklyn, NY, his combined home & business since 1847.
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
This Oct 1909 cover from the National Bank of India, Nairobi, was addressed to the naturalists Edgar Alexander Mearns (1856-1916) and Edmund Heller (1875–1939), members of the Smithsonian-Theodore Roosevelt African Expedition under the command of Theodore Roosevelt. /1
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
August 4, 2025 at 4:21 AM
This Oct 1909 cover from the National Bank of India, Nairobi, was addressed to the naturalists Edgar Alexander Mearns (1856-1916) and Edmund Heller (1875–1939), members of the Smithsonian-Theodore Roosevelt African Expedition under the command of Theodore Roosevelt. /1
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
On 1 Oct 1954, a Polish ornithologist named Władysław Rydzewski (1911-1980), residing in Croydon, England, launched the inaugural issue of an ornithological bulletin titled The Ring. It was the same year he received a Ph.D for his thesis on Heron migration. /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
This Nov 1961 printed matter cover from Warsaw, Poland, was sent to Peter Rhoades Mott at Middlesex School, MA. It contained The Ring, an international ornithological bulletin for bird banders, which from 1961, also became the official bulletin of the Polish Zoological Society. /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
July 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
On 1 Oct 1954, a Polish ornithologist named Władysław Rydzewski (1911-1980), residing in Croydon, England, launched the inaugural issue of an ornithological bulletin titled The Ring. It was the same year he received a Ph.D for his thesis on Heron migration. /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
Let’s turn over our 1896 postal card from Japanese zoologist Kakichi Mitsukuri: On the reverse, a preprinted acknowledgment from the Science College, Imperial University of Tokyo, thanking the sender for a received publication; a common courtesy among academic institutions & libraries. /1
#philately
#philately
July 9, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Let’s turn over our 1896 postal card from Japanese zoologist Kakichi Mitsukuri: On the reverse, a preprinted acknowledgment from the Science College, Imperial University of Tokyo, thanking the sender for a received publication; a common courtesy among academic institutions & libraries. /1
#philately
#philately
In July 1896, Japanese Zoologist Kakichi Mitsukuri (1857-1909) of the Science College of the Imperial University of Tokyo, sent this 2 Sen foreign postal card (1892 thick paper variety) to John Sterling Kingsley (1854-1929), Chair of Biology at Tufts College, Massachusetts. /1
#philately
#philately
July 6, 2025 at 3:26 AM
In July 1896, Japanese Zoologist Kakichi Mitsukuri (1857-1909) of the Science College of the Imperial University of Tokyo, sent this 2 Sen foreign postal card (1892 thick paper variety) to John Sterling Kingsley (1854-1929), Chair of Biology at Tufts College, Massachusetts. /1
#philately
#philately
This Nov 1961 printed matter cover from Warsaw, Poland, was sent to Peter Rhoades Mott at Middlesex School, MA. It contained The Ring, an international ornithological bulletin for bird banders, which from 1961, also became the official bulletin of the Polish Zoological Society. /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
June 29, 2025 at 11:26 AM
This Nov 1961 printed matter cover from Warsaw, Poland, was sent to Peter Rhoades Mott at Middlesex School, MA. It contained The Ring, an international ornithological bulletin for bird banders, which from 1961, also became the official bulletin of the Polish Zoological Society. /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
In 1874, Ohio business man Jacob Henry Studer began publication of "The Birds of North America, drawn from life and uniformly reduced to one-quarter their natural size" illustrated by Theodore Jasper; delivered in parts monthly to subscribers at US$1 per part. /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
June 25, 2025 at 11:44 AM
In 1874, Ohio business man Jacob Henry Studer began publication of "The Birds of North America, drawn from life and uniformly reduced to one-quarter their natural size" illustrated by Theodore Jasper; delivered in parts monthly to subscribers at US$1 per part. /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
In my previous post, quoted below, I looked at who sent this 1889 cover, but not why. As we've seen, the sender was the English naturalist William Gilbert Smith, who lived in America 1871-92; initially in Rochester, where he joined the Society of American Taxidermists (est. 1880). /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
June 18, 2025 at 12:11 PM
In my previous post, quoted below, I looked at who sent this 1889 cover, but not why. As we've seen, the sender was the English naturalist William Gilbert Smith, who lived in America 1871-92; initially in Rochester, where he joined the Society of American Taxidermists (est. 1880). /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
William Gilbert Smith (1841-1900) has been called the pioneer ornithologist of Larimer County, Colorado, where he lived 1884-92, 6 miles NE of Loveland. This cover, cancelled at Loveland PO on 21 Feb 1889, from Smith, is addressed to fellow naturalist Ernest Grant Tabor. /1
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
June 14, 2025 at 1:11 AM
William Gilbert Smith (1841-1900) has been called the pioneer ornithologist of Larimer County, Colorado, where he lived 1884-92, 6 miles NE of Loveland. This cover, cancelled at Loveland PO on 21 Feb 1889, from Smith, is addressed to fellow naturalist Ernest Grant Tabor. /1
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
1/3) This Illustrated cover is postmarked 3 Nov 1925, in Kandy, Ceylon; addressed to Dr. Charles Wallace Richmond at the US National Museum, Washington DC. The sender is Canadian ophthalmologist and ornithologist, Dr. Casey Albert Wood (1856-1942).
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
June 7, 2025 at 8:59 AM
1/3) This Illustrated cover is postmarked 3 Nov 1925, in Kandy, Ceylon; addressed to Dr. Charles Wallace Richmond at the US National Museum, Washington DC. The sender is Canadian ophthalmologist and ornithologist, Dr. Casey Albert Wood (1856-1942).
#ornithology #philately
#ornithology #philately
1/3) Société Académique D'Histoire Internationale cover, dated 6 Dec 1918, addressed to ornithologist Charles Richmond at his home address, 1929 Park Road NW, Washington. An Av. D’Orleans continuous cancel ties a France 1906 5c green definitive.
#philately #ornithology
#philately #ornithology
June 3, 2025 at 10:26 PM
1/3) Société Académique D'Histoire Internationale cover, dated 6 Dec 1918, addressed to ornithologist Charles Richmond at his home address, 1929 Park Road NW, Washington. An Av. D’Orleans continuous cancel ties a France 1906 5c green definitive.
#philately #ornithology
#philately #ornithology
1/3) This Aug 1907 cover to Charles Richmond, Acting Curator of Birds, US National Museum, is from natural history dealer William Frederick Henry Rosenberg (1868-1957) of London, who, in 1907 editions of British Birds, advertised the “largest stock of Birdskins in the world."
#ornithology
#ornithology
May 29, 2025 at 9:07 PM
1/3) This Aug 1907 cover to Charles Richmond, Acting Curator of Birds, US National Museum, is from natural history dealer William Frederick Henry Rosenberg (1868-1957) of London, who, in 1907 editions of British Birds, advertised the “largest stock of Birdskins in the world."
#ornithology
#ornithology
1/3) In May 1913, ornithologist Charles John Pennock, the addressee of this 1927 cover, vanished after attending a scientific club meeting in Philadelphia. Despite extensive searches, he was presumed dead; though some suspected a recurrence of an amnesia episode from years previously.
#ornithology
#ornithology
May 23, 2025 at 3:40 PM
1/3) In May 1913, ornithologist Charles John Pennock, the addressee of this 1927 cover, vanished after attending a scientific club meeting in Philadelphia. Despite extensive searches, he was presumed dead; though some suspected a recurrence of an amnesia episode from years previously.
#ornithology
#ornithology
1/3) While the quoted 1919 Papua New Guinea cover has no return address, fortunately for us the addressee's annotation allows us to identify the sender as the American entomologist, turned ornithologist, John Todd Zimmer (1889-1957).
#ornithology
#ornithology
1919 cover addressed to ornithologist Richard Crittenden McGregor, Bureau of Science, Manila, Philippines. The cover has no return address, but McGregor (presumably) has annotated it as "from Zimmer who used to be in Bu. Agriculture here. He is now Govt. Entomologist in New Guinea." /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
May 20, 2025 at 12:58 PM
1/3) While the quoted 1919 Papua New Guinea cover has no return address, fortunately for us the addressee's annotation allows us to identify the sender as the American entomologist, turned ornithologist, John Todd Zimmer (1889-1957).
#ornithology
#ornithology
The postal card illustrated here was sent in September 1888, advertising for sale a stock of "very choice" Flamingo and Roseate Spoonbill skins collected from a winter fieldtrip to the “West Indias”, before the sender, David Powers Ingraham (1836-1904), set out on his next trip. /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
April 24, 2025 at 5:01 AM
The postal card illustrated here was sent in September 1888, advertising for sale a stock of "very choice" Flamingo and Roseate Spoonbill skins collected from a winter fieldtrip to the “West Indias”, before the sender, David Powers Ingraham (1836-1904), set out on his next trip. /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
1919 cover addressed to ornithologist Richard Crittenden McGregor, Bureau of Science, Manila, Philippines. The cover has no return address, but McGregor (presumably) has annotated it as "from Zimmer who used to be in Bu. Agriculture here. He is now Govt. Entomologist in New Guinea." /1
#ornithology
#ornithology
April 1, 2025 at 2:31 PM
1919 cover addressed to ornithologist Richard Crittenden McGregor, Bureau of Science, Manila, Philippines. The cover has no return address, but McGregor (presumably) has annotated it as "from Zimmer who used to be in Bu. Agriculture here. He is now Govt. Entomologist in New Guinea." /1
#ornithology
#ornithology