Gems of the Sea Hand-Drawn Cover Page

Material Information

Subjects / Keywords:: Botanical specimens--Collection and preservation
Marine algae
Florida--Fort Jefferson
Genre:: Album
Spatial Coverage:: United States -- Florida -- Fort Jefferson (Dry Tortugas)
Coordinates:: 24.6287 x -82.8732

General Note:: A hand-drawn cover page made using ink and watercolors depicting Fort Jefferson from the sea with a waving Civil War soldier carrying the U.S. flag on the left side, and depiction of President George Washington holding a sabre in his left hand while stretching out his right in a sign of friendship. At the top of the page is a drawn image of an eagle with wings outstretched and head bowed, and carrying in its beak a banner with the phrase "our bird is in mourning." This album illustrates the convergence of history and biology so rarely seen in a single artifact. The date of April 15, 1865 was the day President Abraham Lincoln died after having been shot by John Wilkes Booth the previous day. That image, together with the other patriotic drawings, speaks to a difficult time in the United States’ history, and the depth of sorrow felt by Americans following Lincoln’s assassination.