We are exploring the University of Virginia's Small Special Collections Library for materials on the history of extinction -- both records of species that have gone extinct and how processes of extinction and the loss of nonhuman life are culturally manifest from the 17th to the 21st centuries. Jefferson was interested in extinction and the possible survival of relict species, even as he was a participant in a history that itself generates extinction in multiple ways. We're particularly interested in how extinction is refracted through the lens of a single institution's holdings, in ways that speak to broader global engagement, past and present. Above all, we're exploring records of extinction where extinction itself is never explicitly mentioned, outside the contexts of formalized scientific debate -- in botanical prints and amateur naturalist guides, nineteenth-century trade seed catalogues, fashion magazines and early modern travel narratives -- texts participating in hidden processes of extinction that document the extraction of materials, manufacture and production of commodities, consumer culture, and the ways in which humans have lived in the world that have had unintended but irreversible consequences for biodiversity. In short, this project seeks to explore extinction in areas of the archive that are not focused upon 'Extinction' in a formal, narrow sense.
This drawing and paragraph written about the Great Auk comes from the book Tales of Animals: Comprising Quadrupeds, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles and Insects written by Peter Farley in 1833. This is fascinating to me because it was written 11 years before the Great Auk went extinct so it refers to the animal as being still alive. This book references many other animals besides the Great Auk as well that are now endangered or extinct. There is a page on the passenger pigeon which didn't go extinct until 1914, as well as over a page dedicated to the mammoth which had long been extinct before Farley wrote this book. The animals that are now endangered, critically endangered, or vulnerable discussed in the book are the turbot, the polar bear, the great ant-eater, the quagga, the golden carp, the orangutang, the peccary, the rhinoceros, the sea tortoise and the walrus. It is really interesting to look at animals in this book that are referred to as common but nowadays are entirely wiped out or in the process of disappearing.
By Liv Gwilliam
In this Letter to Ella Noland written in 1849, there contains a fascinating reference to the passenger pigeon. The letter is written by Md. Cochran and is addressed to Ms. Noland. In it, Cochran shares news about her family. She writes about someone she calls Brother William, who is a, "monomaniac just now on the subject of wild pigeons-- he has a net and is up before light every morning takes a cup of coffee and is off till dinner-- yesterday they brought in a hundred and thirty five -- out at Mr. McCarthy's we hear they caught six hundred yesterday." This comment is interesting because it highlights both the obsession 19th century Americans had with capturing the pigeons as well as the sheer numbers they were able to catch and kill in one day. Not only were they hunted for utility as they provided meat to Americans, the character Brother William also demonstrates the other side of this case of extinction which is that American's enjoyed the act of hunting itself. Netting the pigeons is described in this letter not only as a job but as a leisure activity as well. Lastly, Cochran writes, "I expect we shall eat them till we loathe them as the Israelites did the quails." This is a biblical reference; when the Israelites complained that they wanted meat after God brought them out of Egyptian slavery, He provided them with a plentiful amount of Quails, but only quails, so that they would surely get sick of and hate them. I think that this letter paired with the 19th century recipe books we also have in Special Collections that contain recipes for Passenger Pigeon Pie will be really poignant to include in the collection.
By Liv Gwilliam
By Liv Gwilliam
Woman's Heartlessness by Celia Thaxter
This short book entitled Woman's Heartlessness was written by Celia Thaxter in 1900 and is a call to action for women to take responsibility for the harm they are causing birds by turning them into fashion. Specifically, Thaxter describes her moral distaste for the birds being worn as hats. Lines from this essay could be used in pairing with other artifacts in Special Collections related to birds being worn as hats and other animals being killed for fashion. In my opinion, one of the most powerful lines in it was, "I fear we no longer deserve these golden gifts of God. I would the birds could all emigrate to some friendlier planet, peopled by a nobler race than ours, where they might live their sweet lives unmolested, and be treated with the respect, the consideration, and the grateful love which are their due. For we have almost forfeited the right to the blessing of their presence." The language in Thaxter's essay is strong and poetic and makes emotional appeals to women living in the late 19th and early 20th century to stop and take stock of the implications of their fashion choices. I think it's important to highlight in our exhibition that it is not just retrospectively that people look at the use of animals for lavish garments of clothing as unethical. Even during the time there were women voicing these moral issues. This example suggests that the story of anthropogenic extinction is not that human's didn't know what they were doing until it was too late, but rather humans didn't listen to individuals who saw the problem while there was still time to act.
By Liv Gwilliam
By Liv Gwilliam