A Collection of Natural History

A Collection of Natural History

"A Collection of Natural History, copied from J. Edwards"- this is written phonetically, in a system probably devised by Fisher. "Recueil d'Histoire Naturelle, transcrit par J. Fisher, 1795." A collection of 28 loose manuscript pages with watercolor illustrations, each approximately 10 3/4 x 16 1/4 inches. These are found within a leather binding whose fly leaf reads "Property of Ethelwynne Hinckley". The collection is stored in a linen-covered box, although 12 prints are currently in black frames, and four of those are on display in the exhibit room when the Fisher Homestead is open to the public. Each page is protected by a mylar sleeve. These were orginally numbered, but some of the numbered sleeves have been lost, so order, if any, is not clear. There are 28 pages as of September 24, 2014. 13 pages consist of an illustration with two columns of description below, one in phonetic English (?) and one in French. La Corme (apple). L'Homme Sauvage (wild man). Le Singe a Queue de Cochon (pig-tailed monkey). Le Singe de l'isle de St. Jaques (monkey from isle of St. Jaques). Le Maucauco Noir (black macaque). Le Sanglin ou Caqui Minor. The Male Zebra. The Female Zebra. Le Gerbua. Le Mangeur de Fourmis Minor (little anteater). Le Mongous (mongoose). The Elephant. The Rhinocerous. 4 pages consist of drawings of large wild animals with brief description and name written in several languages. Elephant and rhinocerous. Lion and lioness. Bear and catamount. Wolf (single image on one page). Also: "Larkspur. Drawn from nature, and painted by Jonathan Fisher, blue Hill, October 1810." "Garden Pea. J. Fisher pinx. 1810. Sept. 29." "Ash colored Hawk, Brown Lizard." A black and white bird with small butterfly. A hand with "distempered skin" and a branch of the tree that caused it.. "Brasilian Macaw". "The Great Horned Owl from Athens". "The Crown'd Eagle". "The Little Owl". An illustration of 32 shells, "Copied from Hill's Natural History, April 1795. By Jonathan Fisher." Written phonetically ? An illustration of six shells. Shells, Hand with Distempered Skin, Garden Pea, and Brasilian Macaw were on display in the exhibit room for the 2017 season. Macaw, Eagle, Little Owl, and Great Horned Owl from Athens were on display in the exhibit room for the 2018 season. Le Gerbua and The Little Anteater were on display in the kitchen for the 2018 season. Shells is on display in the kitchen for the 2019 season. Le Jerbua, Black Macaque, Elephant, and Great Horned Owl are on display in the exhibit room for the 2019 season. Shells, Hand with Distempered Skin, Garden Pea, and Brasilian Macaw are on display in the Exhibit Room for the 2021 season.