Publications
Publications: Robert McCracken Peck - 2020
NOTE: This Bibliography is divided into four sections: Part 1 contains books written entirely by, co-authored by, or edited by Robert Peck; Part II contains books to which Mr. Peck has contributed an essay or chapter; and Part III contains articles for newspapers and scholarly and popular journals. Part IV contains reviews. All four are arranged in chronological order with the most recent publications appearing first. (Last update: January 2020)
Part I - Books and Editions:
Author of: The Natural History of Edward Lear (New Edition), Princeton University Press, 2021.
Author of: Specimens of Hair: the Curious Collection of Peter A Browne, New York: Blast Books, 2018.
Author of: The Natural History of Edward Lear
(foreword by David Attenborough), Boston: David R. Godine, 2016; London: Antique Collectors’ Club, 2016.Chinese edition published by United Sky/New Media Co. Ltd. Beijing, 2018.
Editor (with Susan A. Kaplan) of: North by Degree: New Perspectives on Arctic Exploration, Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, Lightening Rod Press, Vo. 8, 2013.
Senior co-author (with Patricia Tyson Stroud) of: A Glorious Enterprise: The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the Making of American Science, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012. (Recipient of the Philadelphia Athenaeum Literary Award)
Co-author (with Valerie Bramwell) and editor of: All in the Bones: A Biography of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences, 2008
Author of: Land of the Eagle: A Natural History of North America, London: B.B.C. Books, 1990; New York: Summit Books, 1992; Oststeinbek: Aluette Verlag, Germany, 1992. (288 pp) This book is the companion volume to the 8-part B.B.C./P.B.S. television series of the same title. (Videotapes and DVDs distributed by Time-Life.) The book spent 9 weeks on the best-seller list in Great Britain (reaching #3 in April 1990) and three weeks on the best-seller list in Germany. In the U.S. It was named one of the ten most notable natural history/science books of the year by The New York Times Book Review.
Author of: Wild Birds of America: The Art of Basil Ede, (with a Foreword by H.R.H. Prince Philip and a Preface by the Honorable Walter Annenberg), New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1991.
Editor of: John Cassin's Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America, with introduction by Robert M. Peck, Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Assoc., 1991 (A facsimile reprint of Cassin's classic work of 1856, with a new, 42 page biographical introduction and essay about Cassin by RMP, with notes and appendices also by RMP)
Author of: Headhunters and Hummingbirds: An Expedition into Ecuador, New York: Walker and Co., 1987 (selected by the Children's Book Council as one of the year’s 100 most notable children's books in the field of social studies). Also commended by N.Y. Public Library.
Foreword to: The Birds of America by John James Audubon, New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1985 (the Audubon birth bicentennial edition of this classic book).
Author of: A Celebration of Birds: The Life and Art of Louis Agassiz Fuertes, (with an Introduction by Roger Tory Peterson). New York: Walker and Co., 1982; London: Collins, 1983.
Editor of: William Bartram's Travels, with Introduction and Notes, Salt Lake City, Utah: Peregrine Smith, Inc., 1980.
Editor of: Philadelphia Wildfowl Exposition Catalog, Editor and Introduction; Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences, 1979.
Managing Editor of: Frontiers, (annual publication of the Academy of Natural Sciences), 1979-1982.
Editor of: Bartram Heritage Report, U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bartram Trail Conference, 1978.
Editor of: The Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 2000 – 2003.
Part II - Chapters and Essays
Chapter in The Attention of a Traveller: Essays on William Bartram's Travels and Legacy, Kathryn Braund, editor, Tuscaloosa, ALA: U of Alabama Press, 2022.
Chapter on Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (co-authored with Stephen M. Rowland) in: The Evolution of Paleontological Art, Renee Clary, editor, Geological Society of America, 2021.
Foreword to: Florida Explored: The Philadelphia Connection in Bartram’s Tracks, Thomas Peter Bennett, Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2019.
Chapter in: Britain in the World: Highlights from the Yale Center for British Art, Martin Droth, Nathan Flis, and Michael Hatt, editors, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019.
Chapter on T. R. Peale in: Naturalists in the Field, Arthur MacGregor ed., Leiden: Brill, 2018.
Essay “To the Ends of the Earth for Science” (about John Cleves Symmes’ Hollow Earth theory) in: American History, Art, and Culture, a special publication in honor of Johnathan Leo Fairbanks, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA, 2018.
Foreword to: The Family of Hummingbirds: The Complete Prints by John Gould, Joel and Laura Oppenheimer eds., New York: Rizzoli, 2018.
Essay in: Object Lessons: The Visualization of Nineteenth-Century Life Sciences, George Loudon, ed., London: Ridinghouse, 2015.
Chapter in: Of Green Leaf Bird and Flower – Artists Books and the Natural World, Elisabeth Fairman, ed., New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014.
Chapter in: J. Fenwick Lansdowne, Portland, OR: Pomegranate, 2014.
Chapter in: North by Degree: New Perspectives on Arctic Exploration, Susan Kaplan and Robert Peck, editors, Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society (Lightening Rod Press, Vol. 8), 2013
Chapter (on 18th and 19th century scientific publications) in: Knowing Nature: Art and Science in Philadelphia, 1740-1840, Amy Meyers, editor, New Haven: Yale University Press 2011.
Two entries (on Paul Du Chaillu and John James Audubon) in: History and Mystery, London: The Society for the History of Natural History, 2011.
Two chapters (on John James Audubon and Heinrich Harrer) in: Other People’s Books: Association Copies and the Stories they Tell, Chicago: The Caxton Club, 2011.
Introduction to: William Bartram: The Search For Nature’s Design, Nancy Hoffman and Tom Hallock, eds., University of Georgia Press, 2010.
Chapter (on John James Audubon’s first publication of a bird image) in: Money on Paper: Bank Notes and Related Graphic Arts, Alan M. Stahl, ed., Princeton: Princeton University, 2010.
Chapter in: They Lived to Tell the Tale, Jan Jarboe Russell, ed., Guilford, CT.: Lyons Press (an anthology of original essays published for The Explorers Club, New York), 2008.
Chapter (on conservation history) in: The Harriman Alaska Expedition Retraced: A Century of Change, 1899-2001, Thomas S. Litwin, ed., Rutgers University Press, 2005.
Essay in: John Gould and the Birds of Australia – exhibition catalog published by the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania, 2004
Essay in: John Gould’s Birds of Australia - exhibition catalog published by the Embassy of Australia, Washington D.C., 2004.
Chapter (on the scientific contributions of Lewis and Clark) in: Finding Lewis and Clark: Old Trails, New Directions, James P. Ronda and Nancy Tystad Koupal, eds., Pierre, SD: South Dakota Historical Society Press, 2004.
Two chapters (on the history of natural history collecting and the preservation of specimens) in: Stuffing Birds, Pressing Plants, Shaping Knowledge: Natural History in North America, 1730-1860, Sue Ann Prince, ed., Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 2003. (Transactions of the APS, Vol. 93 Pt. 4).
Chapter (on Rosamond Purcell and Ole Worm’s 17th century museum collection) in: Rosamond Purcell: Two Rooms, Santa Monica Museum of Art, 2003.
Chapter (on Louis Agassiz Fuertes) in: As Told at The Explorers Club, George Plimpton, ed., Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2003.
Essay (on Edward Lear as a natural history illustrator) in: A Passion for Natural History: The Life and Legacy of the 13th Earl of Derby, Clemecy Fisher, ed., exhibition catalog for the Liverpool Museum, 2002. (Recipient of the Society for the History of Natural History John Thackary Medal)
Essay (on John and William Bartram) in: Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment, New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Essay in: The World From Here: Treasures from the Great Libraries of Los Angeles, UCLA/Hammer Museum/Getty Publications, 2001. (Recipient of the Smith-Ravenel Prize, Am. Assoc. of Museums, 2002).
Chapter in: John James Audubon in the West: The Last Expedition, Sarah Boehme, editor, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2000.
Essay in: How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear, Charles Lewsen, ed. Bristol: British Oncology Centre, 2000.
Essay in: The History of Science in the United States, Marc Rothenberg, editor, New York: Garland Publishing, 1999.
Entries in: American National Biography, John A. Garrety and Mark C. Carnes, editors; Oxford University Press, 1999.
Chapter in: Shaping a National Culture: The Philadelphia Experience, 1750-1800, Katherine E. Hutchins, editor, A Winterthur Book, W.W. Norton & Co., 1994.
Essay: "More Than Meets the Eye: The Ichnography of American Landscape Painting," in Wildlife Art in America, Minneapolis: James Ford Bell Museum, University of Minnesota, 1994.
Essay: "William Bartram and His Travels," in: Contributions to the History of North American Natural History, Society for the Bibliography of Natural History, London, 1983.
Essay: "Books from the Bartram Library," in: Contributions to the History of North American Natural History, Society for the Bibliography of Natural History, London, 1983.
The Works of Thomas Eakins, exhibition catalog, The Hirshhorn Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1977 (contributor to the catalog).
Multiple Essays in: Copies as Originals; Translations in Media and Techniques, Princeton, N.J.: The Art Museum, Princeton University, 1974.
Graphics and Multiples from Gemini GEL, exhibition catalog, The Art Museum, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J., 1972 (co-author).
Part III - Articles:
“Books That Illustrate Nature with Nature Itself,” The Magazine Antiques, March-April, 2024, pp. 84-95.
Collaring Nature: The use of foxes to find and rescue the members of the lost Franklin Expedition,” Polar Record, Cambridge University Press, Spring 2024 (republished in Natural History, March 2024, pp. 24-29.
Feathers” Natural History, February,2024, pp. 9-11.
“Leash Common Denominator: Some notes on art, design, and historical artifacts relating to dogs,” The Magazine Antiques, September-October, 2023, pp. 84-91
“Reflections on Water,” Natural History, September-October, Endpaper.
“A Window on an Ancient Land: Finding Friendship on the steppes of Central Asia,” The Explorers Journal, Spring 2023, pp. 26-39.
“Shadowy Figures” on the art of Ugo Mochi and other past masters of the animal silhouette, The Magazine Antiques, January-February 2023, pp. 96-105.
“Asemic Writing from the Mouth of a Snail,” Natural History, July-August 2022, Endpaper.
“Through the Looking Glass” on the Victorian era’s fascination with microscopes and all they revealed, The Magazine Antiques, May-June 2022, pp. 106-115.
“Into the Land of Fire and Ice: Wandering the Backroads of Iceland,” The Explorers Journal, Winter 2022.
“Edward Lear Down Under,” Caxtonian, (Journal of the Caxton Club), Vol. XXX, No. 1., Jan. 2022
“The Great Auk Memorial,” Natural History, October, 2021, Endpaper.
“Audubon’s Snuff Box,” Antiques and Fine Art, Autumn 2021, pp. 80-89.
"A Lucky Find: Seed Packets Shed Light on Philadelphia's Horticultural History," Expedition, Vol. 62, No. 3, Special issue on Philadelphia's Garden History, University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, fall 2020, pp. 20-27.
"John James Audubon, Portraitist," Antiques and Fine Art, Autumn 2020, pp.62-69.
"Locust Plagues: Insect Invasions on a Biblical Scale" (cover story), Natural History, July-August 2020, pp. 16-21.
“The World on a String: Embroidered Globes from Westtown School,” The Magazine Antiques, November/December 2019, pp. 62-64.
“John Fothergill’s Florilegium,” (with John Edmondson), Garden History 47:2, fall 2019, pp. 240-243
“A Queen’s Close Brush with History” (Queen Victoria’s collection of hair jewelry), The Magazine Antiques, Sept./October 2019, pp. 114-121.
“Roads Less Travelled: A Visual Journey on and off the Grid,” The Explorers Journal, Winter 2018/19, pp. 62-71.
“Hair: The Pile Albums of Peter A. Browne,” Natural History, Vol. 127, No. 1, Dec. 2018/Jan. 2019, pp. 29-35.
“Birders’ Bookplates,” The Bookplate Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2, , London: The Bookplate Society, Autumn 2017, pp. 89-97.
“Glittering Gifts: Buttons and Medals in Exploration,” Journal for Maritime Research, Vol. 19:2, Greenwich: National Maritime Museum, Nov. 2017, pp. 91-105.
“Tokens of Friendship, Tools of Diplomacy: Presentation Medals in the Age of Exploration,” The Magazine Antiques, Sept.- Oct. 2017, pp. 64-71.
“Brush with Immortality: The Hair Relics of a Sainted Hero,” Mount Vernon, Spring 2017, pp. 42-47.
“Books and Birds: Ornithological Bookplates and their Makers" Birding Magazine, American Birding Assoc., February 2017, pp. 34-41.
“Preserving Feathers, Fur, and Human Skin,” Natural History, Vol 128, No. 8, September 2016, pp. 16-21.
“Cape Dezhnev (Siberia),” Nowhere (on-line travel magazine), Summer 2016.
“On the Inca Trail,” Nowhere (on-line travel magazine), Spring, 2016.
“George Washington’s Brush with Immortality: The Hair Relics of a Sainted Hero,” The Magazine Antiques, July-August 2015, pp. 124-131.
“Danger in Siberia,” The Sun, #468, December 2014, p. 34.
“Discovered in Philadelphia: Thomas Horsfield’s Nature Prints from Java,” Archives of Natural History, Vol. 41, Pt. 1, April 2014, pp. 168-170.
“A Painter in the Bering Sea: Henry Wood Elliott and the Northern Fur Seal,” Polar Record, 2013, Cambridge: Scott Polar Research Institute, pp. 311-318.
“Discovered! The First Engraving of an Audubon Bird,” Cassinia, Philadelphia: Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, Vol. 74-75, 2010-2013, pp. 44-53. (a reprint of the article in Journal of the Early Republic, Fall 2010)
“A Passion for Parrots,” Landscope, Vol. 28, no. 2, Western Australia Dept. of Environment and Conservation, Summer 2012-13, pp. 11-17.
“The Art of the Arctic: British Painting in the Far North,” Journal for Maritime Research, Vol. 14, No. 2, Greenwich: National Maritime Museum, November 2012, pp. 69-93.
“Edward Lear Down Under,” Explore, Vol. 34, no. 3, Sydney: Australian Museum, November 2012, pp. 12-16.
“The Ornithological Mr. Lear,” Nature, vol. 485, 3 May 2012, pp. 36-38
“The Natural History of Edward Lear,” Harvard Library Bulletin, Vol. 22, No. 2-3, Fall 2011 (actually published in Spring, 2012), pp 1-68 and 125-160.
“Discovered! The First Engraving of an Audubon Bird” (with Eric P. Newman), Journal of the Early Republic, 30, Fall 2010, pp. 443-461.
“The Art of Bones,” Natural History, Vol. 117, No. 10, December 2008-January 2009, pp. 24-29.
“Icy Embellishments: Arctic Imagery and the Decorative Arts,” The Magazine Antiques, February 2007, pp. 70-79.
“A Modernizing Nation Finds Identity by Embracing its Past” An “In Depth” report on Mongolia, The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 15, 2006
“Cutting Up Audubon for Science and Art,” Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London Vol. 21 (1), January 2005 (reprint of article from Antiques), pp. 16-29.1998.
“The Explorers Club,” The Magazine Antiques, New York, December 2004, pp. 96-101.
“To Acquire What Knowledge You Can’: The Scientific Contributions of Lewis and Clark,” South Dakota History, Vol. 34, No. 1, Spring 2004, pp.5-27. (cover story)
“Audubon Drawings Discovered,” Archives of Natural History, Vol. 31, Part 2, October 2004, pp. 349-352.
“Alexander Skutch at 100,” Living Bird, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Spring 2004, pp. 10-12.
“Cutting Up Audubon for Science and Art,” The Magazine Antiques, October 2003, pp. 104-113. (cover story)
“Alaska’s Wild Shores: The Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899,” The Explorers Journal, New York: The Explorers Club, Winter 2002-3, pp. 36-39.
"A Conversation with Alexander F. Skutch," Natural History Vol. 110, No. 1, February 2001, pp. 70-71.
"Audubon, Bachman, and the Quadrupeds of North America," The Magazine Antiques, November 2000, pp. 744-753.
“To The Ends of the Earth for Science, Research Expeditions of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, The First 150 Years, 1812-1962,” Proceedings of the Academy off Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 150, April 2000, pp. 14-46.
"The Secrets of the Cloud Forest," Audubon, New York: National Audubon Soc., Sept./Oct. 1999, pp. 88-96.
"Home Again: The Return of Przewalski's Horse to Mongolia," International Wildlife, National Wildlife Federation, Sept./Oct. 1999, pp. 35-41.
"Chagi's Charge - Mongolia's Naadam Festival," Natural History, New York: American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 107, No. 5, June 1998, pp. 28-37 (cover story).
"A Tiny Terror Behind A Giant Dam," (about the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtzee River, China), The Philadelphia Inquirer, Health and Science Section, June 1, 1998
"A Religion Revived: Buddhism in Mongolia," The Philadelphia Inquirer, Magazine Section, December 1, 1997.
"Americans Help Foster A Fledgling Democracy," The Philadelphia Inquirer, Magazine Section, June 25, 1997
"Exploring Mongolia's Ancient Lakes," Explore (ANSP), Vol. 1, No. 2, January 1996, pp. 1 & 7.
"The Tale Before Peter Rabbit," Carnegie Magazine, May/June 1996, pp. 22-27.
"Beatrix Potter, Scientific Illustrator," The Magazine Antiques, June 1996, pp. 868-877.
"A Night With The Shaman of Darhaad," What In The World?, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Vol. 35, No. 2, Winter 1996, pp. 2-3.
"Nomads of the High Plateau," Expedition, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Vol. 38, No. 3, 1996, pp. 3-18.
"Przewalski's Horse on the Mongolian Steppes," The Philadelphia Inquirer, Health and Science section, November 13, 1995.
"Birds of A Feather," Princeton Alumni Weekly, Jan. 25, 1995
"William Holbrook Beard, 1824-1900," The Magazine Antiques, New York, November 1994, pp. 692-701.
"A Book to Finish: An Artist and Biologist join Forces to Produce a Definitive Series on South American Birdlife," Living Bird, Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology, Autumn 1994, pp. 20-27.
"The Lake as Laboratory," The Philadelphia Inquirer, Health and Science section, November 14, 1994.
"The Museum that Never Was," Natural History, New York: The American Museum of Natural History, July 1994, pp. 62-67
"America's Revolutionary Plantsmen," HG, (House and Garden), New York: Conde Nast, September 1992, pp. 44-48.
"The Man Who Saw Through Time," Natural History, New York: The American Museum of Natural History, August 1992.
“Contributions of Henry Weed Fowler (1878-1965), with a Brief Early History of Ichthyology at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia" (with William Smith Vaniz), Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 143, 1991, pp. 173-191.
"Forgotten Cats of Charles Knight," International Wildlife, September/October 1991; National Wildlife Federation, pp. 18-23.
Robert M. Mengel (1921-1990): The Blending of Science and Art," The Wilson Bulletin, Vol. 103, No. 3, The Wilson Ornithological Society, September 1991, pp. 338-356.
"Beatrix Potter as a Scientific Illustrator," International Wildlife, Vol. 20, No. 1, January-February 1990, pp. 42-45.
"Seasons of the Canadian Soul," (Canada's Group of Seven) International Wildlife, Vol. 19, No. 3, May-June 1989, pp. 44-51.
"Hunting Wildlife with Pen and Palette," The Explorers Journal, Vol. 66, No. 4, December 1988, pp. 156-165, and 185.
"Abbott H. Thayer and the Art of the Invisible," International Wildlife, Vol. 18, No. 5, September/October 1988, pp. 38-43.
"Terry Shortt: A Life's Journey into Nature," International Wildlife, Vol. 17, No. 4, July/August 1987, pp. 4-11.
"Headhunters and Hummingbirds; An Expedition into Ecuador," Inquirer Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 1986 (cover story).
“The Golden Age of Wildlife Art,” International Wildlife, Sept. – Oct. 1986, pp. 20-27.
"United Feathers of America," (John James Audubon and New World Ornithology) F.M.R. Magazine, No. 13, July/August 1985, pp. 37-59.
"The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia," The Magazine Antiques, New York, October 1985, pp. 744-754.
“The Dramatic Composition of Louis Agassiz Fuertes,” American Birds, Fall 1985, pp. 282-283.
"The Poconos - Beyond the Billboards," New York Times (Sunday Travel Section), June 1985.
"Bringing Birds to Life," Terra, The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Vol. 22, No. 6, July/August 1984.
"Louis Agassiz Fuertes: The Discovery and Crystallization of Truth," Southwest Art, November 1983, pp. 138-146.
"Terence Shortt: Sketches in the Field," The Academy of Natural Sciences Wildlife Art Exposition Catalog, October 1983, pp. 8-17.
"The Stroke of Genius," National Wildlife, February-March, 1983, pp. 41-46.
"A Cruise for Rest and Recreation: The Harriman Alaska Expedition, 1899," Audubon, September 1982, pp. 86-99.
"William Bartram's Florida Travels," The Florida Naturalist, January/February 1981.
"Fight for the Yellowstone," Rod and Reel, January/February 1981, pp. 20-23.
“Catesby, Wilson, and Audubon, Early Masters of Wildfowl Art,” Philadelphia Wildfowl Exposition catalog, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Fall 1980, pp. 10-14.
"Thomas Eakins and Photography: The Means to an End," Arts Magazine, April 1979, pp. 113-117.
Influential Image: Edward Steichen's J.P. Morgan," Image, The George Eastman House, Rochester, N.Y., Summer 1977, pp. 32-36.
"Albert Laessle, American Animalier," American Art Review, January 1976, pp. 68-84.
Holding the Torch Aloft: The Life and Times of David Douglas (1798-1834), exhibition catalog, The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia, spring 1975.
Part IV - Book Reviews
Reviews for The New York Times Book Review, Wall Street Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Winterthur Portfolio, Landscape Architecture, Frontiers, The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Herpetological Review, Archives of Natural History, and The Wilson Bulletin (Various dates)
- For further information please contact:
- Robert M. Peck
The Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parklway
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-299-1138
peck@ansp.org