Curator Dr Rebecca Rice, Te Papa
will speak about Buller's Birds, The art of Keulemans and Buchanan
currently showing in the main gallery at Aratoi.
More than 140 years ago, two men created what remains New Zealand's most famous book on native birds.
A
History of the Birds of New Zealand combined the passion and knowledge
of ornithologist Walter Buller with the talents of artist J G Keulemans.
The first edition, of 1872-73, attracted subscriptions from luminaries
like Charles Darwin, and a second edition was published in 1888. The
book was known colloquially as Buller's Birds.
A cheaper 1882
alternative, the Manual of the Birds of New Zealand, included wood
engravings by New Zealand artist and botanist John Buchanan.
Buller
worked with both artists to ensure the illustrations were true to life;
sending field notes and detailed comments on early sketches.
J. G.Keulemans, A moho takahe (Notornis mantelli), 1902, oil on canvas