Conservation on a Grand Scale: The History, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Audubon’s Birds of America

Join us for a Lunch at the Library talk from APS Conservators Anne Downey and Renée Wolcott about the history, diagnosis, and treatment of Audubon’s Birds of America.

John James Audubon—naturalist, slaveholder, ambitious upstart—was a divisive figure even in his own day. He wanted his Birds of America—a project that depicted 435 North American birds at life size—to eclipse the work of all previous ornithologists, and he stopped at nothing to achieve his goal. The APS Library—despite internal resistance to Audubon and his work—possesses a copy of the rare elephant double folio of Birds of America (1827-1839), and the first volume is now on exhibit in the APS Museum's Sketching Splendor: American Natural History 1750-1850. 

In preparation for the exhibition, however, curators and conservators noticed a strange purple-gray haze obscuring many of the prints' dark passages. This lunchtime presentation will discuss the conservators' diagnosis and treatment of the problem, which included sampling and analysis of the haze, consultation with colleagues and scientific literature, many rounds of testing, and media consolidation on a massive scale. The talk will also place the prints within their historical context: Audubon's working methods, how the prints were made, and how his magnum opus was acquired and cared for by the APS.

This event will take place on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. ET in Benjamin Franklin Hall and will also be livestreamed. This event is free to attend but registration is required.

Please register to attend in-person or online. Lunch will be provided to those attending in person.

Anne Downey is the Head of Conservation for the American Philosophical Society. Her most important role in this capacity is to ensure the overall care and safety of the Library & Museum collections. She received her M.A. and Certificate of Advanced Studies in Art Conservation from the State University of New York, College at Buffalo, and is a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation.  Prior to joining the APS, Anne worked in various capacities for the Conservation Center for Art and Historic
Artifacts; Wyck Historic House, Garden, and Farm; and the Library of Congress. Her life-long love of all things paper has helped shape her convictions about the importance of investing in our material cultural heritage. Her very kind son calls her a paper scientist, which she secretly enjoys.

Renée Wolcott is Assistant Head of Conservation and Book Conservator. A high school interest survey listed “book restorer” as the top match for her skills and interests. After disregarding this advice for many years—during which she worked as a journalist, editor, and public relations specialist—Renée graduated from the Winterthur-University of Delaware Master’s Program in Art Conservation in 2011. Prior to joining the APS, she worked as a book conservator at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts. She also taught an undergraduate class in book history and conservation at the University of Delaware.

Image: Brittany Murray (Summer 2024 Willman Spawn Conservation Intern) consolidating a plate from Volume 2 of Birds of America while Renee looks on, courtesy of Anne Downey.