Events
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Start: 4:00 pm
Philip Henry Gosse’s detailed watercolors of Alabama’s native insects and plants represent a landmark in the annals of American natural history. Offered for the first time are the complete full-color illustrations from Gosse’s Entomologia Alabamensis, along with a biographical essay placing Gosse’s work in the context of his long and fruitful life.
Born in 1810 in Worcester, England, the young Philip Henry Gosse developed a passion for the natural world. Having learned the basics of miniature portraiture from his father, Gosse quickly took for his artistic subjects the flourishing marine life he discovered along the English coast. In May, 1838, Gosse took a teaching job in Dallas County, Alabama. For the next eight months he collected the insect specimens that he would preserve in the beautifully detailed watercolors of Entomologia Alabamensis. In addition, he composed a highly personalized chronology of his life in a frontier culture, published eventually as Letters from Alabama. Following his return to England, Gosse went on to publish more than 40 books, producing some of the 19th century’s finest illustrations of insects and marine organisms. Today, he is remembered as a popular writer of science for the general public and as a passionate artist whose work in Alabama and elsewhere captured and revealed the beauty and vitality of the natural world.
If you would like to reserve a copy, and we do not have your information on file, you may send it to our easy, secure and encrypted web form by Clicking Here
If you would like to reserve a copy or copies, and we already have your information on file, please Click Here
Start: 4:00 pm
Nature Journal is an innovative presentation of the best columns and photographs from L. J. Davenport’s popular column in Alabama Heritage magazine. Readers of the magazine have come to relish his artful and often witty descriptions of common species encountered in the Alabama outdoors. But Nature Journal is designed to be much more than a mere collection of entertaining essays; it is also an educational tool—a means of instructing and encouraging readers in the art of keeping a nature journal for themselves.
Each of the 25 chapters is a self-contained lesson in close observation of species morphology, behavior, and habitat; research in the literature; nondestructive capture of the subject by photography or drawing; and written description of the total observed natural phenomenon. At the end of each account, stimulating questions and gentle directives guide the reader into making his or her own observations and recordings.
This book is intended for broad nature-study use in Alabama and throughout the southeast by the general reader and nature enthusiast alike, as well as visitors to museums and outdoor centers, and students of nature and nature writing at the high school and college levels. Beautifully designed to look like a personal journal, it is a perfect gift and treasured keepsake for all lovers of the natural world.
If you would like to reserve a copy, and we do not have your information on file, you may send it to our easy, secure and encrypted web form by Clicking Here
If you would like to reserve a copy or copies, and we already have your information on file, please Click Here
Start: 4:00 pm
Butterflies of Alabama is a full-color, richly illustrated guide to the 84 known species of “true” butterflies (Papilionoidea) found within the state’s borders. For more than 14 years, the authors have made a close study of these showy, winged stars of the insect world, pursuing them in a great variety of habitats, rearing them, and photographing their remarkable life cycle stages—egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalid or “cocoon”), and adult.
Each species account is accompanied by color photographs of live subjects in their natural habitats. Close-ups reveal fascinating details of camouflage, mimicry, coloration, and warning devices. The engaging text explains the highly evolved relationships between butterflies and the plants upon which they depend as well as the specialized adaptations that enable their survival within specific environmental niches. Included are range maps, flight times, caterpillar host plants, adult nectar sources, and identification tips—abundant information to tantalize budding as well as experienced butterfly watchers. In addition, pertinent conservation issues are addressed and appendices provide an annotated checklist of the state’s butterflies, a list of accidentals and strays, information on butterfly organizations, and recommended further reading.
With its non-technical language, simple format, and beautiful images, Butterflies of Alabama is accessible and appealing to anyone who appreciates Alabama’s amazing natural wealth.
If you would like to reserve a copy, and we do not have your information on file, you may send it to our easy, secure and encrypted web form by Clicking Here
If you would like to reserve a copy or copies, and we already have your information on file, please Click Here
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Rick Bragg in the Movies
Even though you weren’t able to attend the September 26, 2011, sold-out world premiere of Alabama’s Rick Bragg: Out of the Dirt, here’s your opportunity to view the entire movie at home, as well as much bonus footage not seen in the original documentary.
Listen in on distinguished Alabamaians, local friends and family tell inside tales on Rick as a child and award-winning best-selling author. Rick also gives his life’s philosophy in many scenes. Find out about his mother’s poetry; hear his aunt tell of dressing him as a girl when he was a tot. If ever there was a priceless gift, this is it.
You may order the two DVD (22.95) set through our secure, encrypted link Here
We also have signed copies of every edition of every Rick Bragg title ever written. You may view those by Clicking Here
