Mailing Address:
Special Collections
College of Charleston Library
66 George Street
Charleston, SC 29424

Phone:
(843) 953-8016

Title: John Henry Dick Collection

Collection #: Mss 0065

Dates: ca. 1912-1995

Size: approximately 30 linear ft.

Biographical Note:

"Artist Naturalist" is how Dick described himself in his autobiographical book entitled Other Edens (1979). He established a reputation as one of the leading bird painters in the United States when he illustrated the Warblers of America (edited by Ludlow Griscom and Alexander Sprunt, Jr., 1957). He painted approximately 2,500 separate birds for the Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent with a text by Salim Ali and S. Dillon Ripley (1983). He painted about 600 birds for the Birds of China by Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee (1984). He used a variety of techniques to create ink drawings with striking compositions for numerous books and articles published between 1949 and 1984. He took approximately 8,000 photographs of professional quality while traveling in more than 50 countries to study and photograph birds and other animals in wilderness settings. He assembled one of the finest private collections of rare bird books and contributed them to the College of Charleston together with his papers and his wildlife preserve, Dixie Plantation.

Collection Overview:

Contents: Dick's papers consist primarily of (I) paintings and drawings, (II) manuscripts of his writings, (III) photographs, (IV) correspondence, (V) topical files, and (VI) artifacts:

I. Paintings and Drawings

Dick's artwork includes 35 framed paintings, approx. 200 mounted paintings, and approx. 500 pen-and-ink drawings. Most of the paintings and drawings were prepared for publication on the basis of field observations, color photographs taken with telephoto lenses, and bird skins which Dick collected and stored at Dixie Plantation, borrowed from the American Museum of Natural History, or studied in other museums such as museum of the Bombay Natural History Society (which received his paintings of Indian birds). The drawings include the original illustrations for A Gathering of Shore Birds by Henry Marion Hall (1960), Carolina Low Country Impressions with the text by Alexander Sprunt, Jr. (1964), The Bird Watcher's America ed. by Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr. (1965), The Birds of Nova Scotia by Robie W. Tufts (1961), World of the Great White Heron: a Saga of the Florida Keys by Marjory Bartlett Sanger (1967), Dick's Other Edens, and other publications. In addition, the collection contains 16 framed works by other artists.

II. Manuscripts and Miscellaneous Publications

The manuscript writings are primarily texts which Dick wrote or which were written by others for books he illustrated. While traveling, he made minimal notes daily, and following most of his major trips, he prepared newspaper articles for the News & Courier or Charleston Evening Post. The bulk of his drafts were made for these articles published prior to 1979. The principal texts by other writers are a comprehensive draft for a book on the birds of India by Ben F. King, who initiated the project, and the text of Carolina Low Country Impressions by Sprunt.

III.Photographs

The photographs consist of four separate groups: color slides (approx. 8,000), separate prints made largely from slides (approx. 1,000), scrapbooks with mainly color prints (18 vols.), and misc. photographs of family and friends (approx. 500).

The slides are a comprehensive record of the wildlife he saw primarily during extended trips to Africa (10 trips from 1956-1985, particularly to Kenya) and India (6 trips from 1962-1984). He also made extended trips to Antarctica (2 trips in 1967 and 1975), Brazil (1980), China (1983), Costa Rica (2 trips in 1960 and 1981), the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador (2 trips in 1962 and 1973), Greenland (1974), Guatemala (1976), Mexico (1977), Nepal (1984), Canada (1975 and 1981), New Guinea (1972), Panama (1971), and Trinidad (1976). In addition, he took hundreds of photographs on trips throughout the United States, including numerous trips to Florida, lengthy visits to the Southwest, annual bird counts on Bull's Island, and annual fishing trips to Maine and adjacent areas.

Eighteen volumes of scrapbooks consist primarily of color photographs taken on trips from 1953-1970: Two volumes document his travels to Europe and elsewhere from 1953-1961 and include photographs of water birds seen at the Severn Wildlife Trust in England. Two volumes are devoted to his first trip to the Galapagos (1962). One volume is on Alaska (1963), four volumes on East Africa (1964-1967), one on Tierra del Fuego ( Argentina and Chile) and Antarctica (1967), and one on islands in the Indian Ocean (1970). Seven scrapbooks are devoted exclusively to birds, and birds often occur in the other scrapbooks along with mammals, scenery, architecture, traveling companions, etc.

Photographs taken after 1970 are in ten loose-leaf binders. In 1983 Dick planned to prepare a book of photographs, and he had several hundred cibachrome enlargements made from his best slides, but increasing blindness prevented the completion of this project. Although many of his photographs have been exhibited, almost none have been published.

The personal photographs include pictures of Dick as a child, two photo albums of a family trip to France and Italy in c. 1927; the Dick family estate at Islip, Long Island; portrait photographs of Dick in a complete set of passports from 1937-1986; photos of his parents and siblings (William K. Dick, an industrialist and banker, and Madeline T. Force Dick, widow of John Jacob Astor and Dick's wife from 1916-1933; his brother William Force Dick; his stepmother Virginia C. Dick and her and his father's children, Direxa V. Dick and Will K. Dick); classmates at Yale Art School, which he attended in 1939 and 1940; early photos of Dixie Plantation (Meggett, SC), which his mother acquired as a winter home in 1935 and which he inherited and made his residence from 1947-1995; photos of friends and guests at Dixie; of rare birds raised at Dixie; of traveling companions including David A. Garrity, William C. Coleman, Elliott Hudson, Robert Verity Clem, and Gertrude Legendre.

IV. Correspondence

The largest group of correspondence relates to the preparation of a book on the birds of India and includes numerous letters form King, Ali, Ripley, and David A. Ferguson. The other principal correspondents are Coleman (with typescripts of Coleman's articles on the pivotal 1956 safari that he and Dick went together on to East Africa); De Schauensee; Garrity, friend and President of Devin-Adair Co., Publishers, which published five books with illustrations by Dick including Other Edens; the International Crane Foundation (of which Dick was a board member); Sidney P. Downey, friend and partner in Ker & Downey Safaris, Ltd.; Roger Tory Peterson, friend and author of field guides; Keith Shackleton, artist; and Alexander Sprunt, Jr., friend, ornithologist, and author of several books which Dick illustrated. Dick rarely kept copies of the letters he wrote.

V.Topical Files

Topical files include five separate types of information: (1) biographical notes and articles on Dick, Dick's will, inventories of his estate, etc.; (2) files re Dixie Plantation including the acquisition of additional property, the creation of ponds for waterfowl, the acquisition of rare birds for breeding, his parents’ guest book for 1941-1945 (largely signatures and comments, but with some sketches by Dick and others), invoices, etc.; (3) files of misc. manuscripts, printed ephemera, etc. including notes on bird sited, catalogs of exhibitions of Dick's work, and an extra illustrated copy of Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa (with two photos of Dinesen and two of Kamande Gatora and his family). (4) Financial papers relating to Dick's trust fund, the settlement of his uncle's estate (Adolph M. Dick), etc. (5) Ephemeral publications and clipping files with information on various countries visited, land birds, water birds, mammals, etc.

VI.Artifacts

A small collection of artifacts includes the Sarah Chapman Francis Medal awarded to Dick in 1984 for literary achievement by the Garden Club of America, the award Dick received for winning the first Duck Stamp competition in 1952-1953, and a paint box and paint pallets from Dixie Plantation. Another small group consists of miscellaneous oversized items such as family photographs and calendars used as date books.

Subject Headings

  • Dick, John Henry, 1919-1995.
  • Ali, Salim, 1896-1987.
  • Downey, Sidney P.
  • Ferguson, David A.
  • Garrity, Devin A.
  • King, Ben F.
  • Peterson, Roger Tory.
  • Ripley, Sidney Dillon, 1913-
  • Sprunt, Alexander, Jr.
  • Wilderness areas.
  • Birds.
  • Africa.
  • Antarctica.
  • Dixie Plantation (S.C.)
  • Galapagos Islands.
  • India.
  • Kenya.
  • Natural history -- South Carolina.
  • Photographs.
  • Photograph albums.
  • Drawings.
  • Paintings.

Detailed Description of the Collection

I. PAINTINGS AND DRAWING

 

 

 

Framed paintings (displayed or wrapped for storage)

 

  • Paintings by Dick--35 watercolors of birds

 

  • Paintings by others owned by Dick--16 oils or watercolors of natural history subjects, landscapes, etc.

 

Unframed paintings--approx. 200 watercolors by Dick of birds, but also including plant studies made on Iwo Jima in 1945 and other subjects (Flat storage).

Flat Storage

  • Misc. early watercolors

A-1-1

  • Watercolors of African wildlife, 1956

A-1-2

  • Watercolors of birds and drawing, c. 1948-c. 1957

A-1-3

  • Decorative studies, c. 1940

A-1-4

  • Earliest bird studies

A-1-5

  • Earliest plant studies

A-1-6

  • Misc. bird studies, c. 1948

A-1-7

  • Iwo Jima plant studies and views, 1945-1946

A-1-8

  • Paintings for a Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Ali and Ripley

 

  • Layout

A-2-1

  • Rejected painting

A-2-2

  • Paintings for Birds of China by De Schauensee

 

  • Plates 1, 3, 5-7

A-2-3

  • Plates 11,16-18

A-2-4

  • Plates 22-72, 29

A-2-5

  • Plates 30, 32, 33, 38

A-2-6

Large, highly finished watercolors on drawing boards, c. 1948-1956 (36 mounted paintings in three drawers)

A-4/6

Series of small monochrome paintings of ducks

 

 

 

Drawings--approximately 500 drawings by Dick (chart case)

 

Drawings for A Gathering of Shore Birds by Henry Marion Hall (1960)

A-3

Drawings for Carolina Low Country Impressions with text by Alexander Sprunt, Jr. (1964)

A-7

Drawings for Bird Watcher's America ed. by Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr. (1965; Drawings and proofs)

A-8-2/3

Birds of Nova Scotia by Robbie W. Tufts (1961)

 

Other Edens by Dick (1979)

A-9

Misc. unidentified drawings by Dick

A-8-11

 

 

Misc. oversized material

 

Dust jackets for books illustrated by Dick

A-8-1

Birds of South Carolina by Sprunt and Chamberlain (proof for plates)

A-8-4

Duck stamp design and prints, 1952

A-8-5

Prints of paintings and drawings by Dick (Bachman's Warbler, Gull-Billed Tern, Eagle for Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association certificate, and untitled grouse)

A-8-7

Plats and aerial photo of Dixie Plantation

A-8-8

Art by other artists (ink drawing of a crow and magpie by Francis Lee Jacques; Owl etching by S. Onian; drawings of Dixie Plantation by Emmett Robinson; cartoon about Dixie)

A-8-9

Misc. posters by other artists

A-8-10

II. MANUSCRIPTS AND MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATIONS

 

 

BOX/FOLDER

Other Edens

 

  • Draft of introduction

1/1

  • Version 1 (earliest surviving typescript)

1/2

  • Version 2A (typescript with extensive additions and corrections)

1/3

  • Version 2B (with additions and corrections by others)

1/4

  • Illustrations (photocopies)

1/5

  • Illustrations (photocopies)

1/6

  • Version 3 (typescript)

2/1

  • Proofs

2/2

  • Promotional material

2/3

  • Reviews

2/4

  • Audio cassette by SC State Library

2/5

  • Project for a second volume of Other Edens, c. 1985

2/6

 

 

Newspaper articles by Dick (for the News & Courier unless otherwise noted; the articles written before 1979 largely formed the basis for Other Edens; the later articles were intended to be collected in the planned second volume)

 

  • Africa

 

    • "African Safari Yields Scenic Thrill, Game" by Dick and William C. Coleman (16 Mar. 1956)

3/1

    • "Africans Aid Endangered Species"(25 May 1980)

3/2

    • " Botswana Perfect for Safari" (24 Oct. 1982)

3/3

  • Antarctica

 

    • (Two parts in Post): "Courtship of the Albatross--No More Whales: A Visit to South Georgia, Scenic Home of Wildlife" (13 Mar. 1975) and "Cruising in Artic Waters: DDT, Garbage and Harvesters menace Life in the Frozen South" (8 May 1975)

3/4

  • Asia

 

    • China (two parts): " China: an Eye Opener for China" (13 Nov. 1983) and "Bird- watching in China: Cranes Not as Abundant as Billed" (20 Nov. 1983)

3/5

    • India ("Report from India on Wildlife and Conservation"; three parts): "Tiger Sanctuary May Be Too Late to Save Beautiful Beasts" (1Feb. 1973); "Bird Watcher Sees Many Feathered Species, but Nary a Tiger" (2 Feb. 1973); Taj Mahal and Flocks of Birds Stir Thoughts on National Heritage" (3 Feb. 1973)

3/6

    • India (three parts): "Bombay City of Contrasts" (23 Jan. 1983); " India's Kanha National Park Magnificent Wilderness" (30 Jan. 1983); "Animals Make Park Special" (13 Feb. 1983)

3/7

    • Nepal: "Wilderness Journeys Enrich Life" (27 May 1984)

3/8

  • Australia

3/9

    • New Guinea (three parts): "Visit to the Highlands of New Guinea: Artist Sights Birds of Paradise, Threatened with Extinction" (12 Nov. 1972); "River Voyage in New Guinea--I: Charleston Artist Recounts Cruise on a House Boat Through Jungle" (19 Nov. 1972); "River Voyage in New Guinea--II: Stone Age People, Talented Artists, Still Practice Cannibalism" (20 Nov. 1972)

 

  • South America

 

    • " Brazil: a Giant Awakening" (30 Nov. 1980)

3/10

    • Costa Rica: "Quetzal Bird: Sacred Bird's Plumage Vies with Its History for Spectacular Color" (24 Jul. 1960)

3/11

    • Ecuador: Galapagos (1st visit; three parts): "Voyage of the 'Westward'" (29 Jul., 5 Aug., and 12 Aug. 1962)

3/12

    • Ecuador: Galapagos (2nd visit; "Fortnight's Visit to the Galapagos"; two parts): "Naturalist's Paradise Scene of Darwin's Findings on Selection" (8 Jun. 1973) and "Wildlife in Great Variety on Nature's Paradise Unafraid of Man"(9 Jun. 1973)

3/13

    • Falklands (two parts): "Lure of the Wild: Falklands' Fascination" (24 Feb. 1975) and "Wonders of the Falklands" (25 Feb. 1975)

3/14

  • North America

 

    • Canada ( New Brunswick): "Fishing Holds Fascination" (9 Aug. 1981)

3/15

    • Greenland and Canada (four parts; Post): "Artist's Odyssey: Off on a Voyage to the High Artic Islands" (1 Oct. 1974); "Artist's Voyage: Visit to Greenland" (2 Oct. 1974); "Artist's Voyage: Iceberg Country" (3 Oct. 1974); "Artist's Voyage: Visit to Eskimos" (4 Oct. 1974)

3/16

    • Guatemala: "Birding in Guatemala: Visit to Tikal" (Post, 6 Oct. 1976)

3/17

    • Mexico (three parts in Post): "Rugged Wilderness: Visit to Baja and Gulf of California" (15 Jun. 1977); "In Sea of Cortez: Sea Bird Show at Isla Raza" (16 Jun. 1977); "Tongues as Heavy as Elephants: Watching World's 2nd Largest Animal" (17 Jun. 1977)

3/18

    • "Birding in Panama: Charleston Artist Gets a Farewell Glimpse of the Rare Green Quetzal" (21 Mar. 1971)

3/19

    • Trinidad (two articles in Post): "Scarlet Ibis" (9 Apr. 1976) and " Trinidad Rain Forest: Oilbirds Have Own Radar Device" (28 Apr. 1976)

3/20

 

 

Misc. Writings by Dick

 

  • Small notebook with 20 pages of sketches, [c. 1927; possibly the manuscript for the privately printed Great South Bay]

3/21

  • Drafts of articles about Dixie Plantation: "Dixie Trees," "Snakes," "Cranes," and "Pheasants." Also, "Notes on Seasonal Changes at Dixie."

3/22

  • Review: "Three-volume Guide to Birding: the Audubon Society Master Guide to Birding ed. by John Farrand, Jr. (Post-Courier, 18 Dec. 1983)

3/23

  • Acceptance speech for the Sarah Chapman Francis Medal awarded by the Garden Club of America, 1984 (with certificate of award; the metal is in box 20).

3/24

  • Minor works (illustrations by Dick for a fundraising letter on Devaux’s Bank; drawings published in Motor Boating [Dec. 1963], “A Bull’s Island Protest” written by Dick for the News & Courier, 17 Dec. 1967)

3/25

 

 

Travel Diaries and Related Manuscripts by Dick

 

  • Africa

 

    • African Diary [1956] 2 vols.

4/1-A

    • "The Lammergiers of Hell's Gate Gorge,"[1971]

4/1-B

    • Bird list [1971]

4/2

    • Diary: Africa ( Kenya and Nirobi), [1980]

4/3

    • Diary: Africa ( Botswana), 1982

4/4

    • "Botswana Safara, 1982" (drafts for N&C)

4/5

    • Diary: "South Africa Safari," [1985] with draft

4/6

    • "To East Africa" by John Henry Dick and John G. Williams ("A guide, essential for every prospective visitor, detailing the bird and manual haunts of East Africa: where to go and what to see" (typed book proposal with detailed outline); also, "To East Africa for Birds" (another book proposal by the same authors)

4/7

  • Antarctica

 

    • Diary, [1967]

4/8

    • Untitled typescript of an article (18pp.)

4/9

    • Diary, [1974] with bird list and itinerary by Lindblad Travel, Inc.

4/10

  • Australia

 

    • Draft for an article, [1972] (pp. 5-13)

4/11

    • Itinerary for " New Guinea Safari #3501" by Lindblad Travel, Inc.

4/12

    • New Guinea, 1975 (draft)

4/13

    • Itinerary for a trip to Australia, 1985

4/14

  • Asia

 

    • China: Diary, [1983]; draft: " China: Personal Impressions of Peking," [1983]; and bird lists.

4/15

    • India: Diary, [1980]; expense report

4/16

    • India, [1982], five manuscripts: four typescripts with accompanying photographs: "Bombay--Two Weeks in a Small Corner of a Giant City"; "Bharatpur Sanctuary--India"; "Kanha--the Home of the Deer and the Tiger"; and "Kenha, the Great Wildlife Park in the Center of India" (with five black and white photographs); also, one handwritten draft entitled "India--a Visit to Kanha Park"

4/17

    • India: Diary, [1983]

4/18

    • India: Diary, 1984; bird list; itinerary

4/19

    • Seychelles, [1970]: "The Fairy Terns of Cousin Island"

4/20

  • Europe

 

    • Notes on a trip to the Greek Islands, [1966]

4/21

  • North America

 

    • Bahamas: "Flamingos of Great Inagua"

4/22

    • " California--Trees" and " California-- Mostly Trees"

4/23

    • Canada-- New Brunswick: "Salmon Fishing on the Restigouche"

4/24

    • Greenland: Diary, [1974]; draft of article; itineraries for "Western Greenland Artic Cruising Expedition T-5219" by Lindbland Travel, Inc.

4/25

    • Guatemala-- Tikal: intinerary for "the 1976 Tikal Tropical Workship" by Massachusetts Audubon Society.

4/26

  • South America

 

    • Brazil, 1980: Diary; "Experiencing Brazil's Mato Grosso"; travel arrangements

4/27

    • Costa Rica, 1960: Bird lists.

4/28

    • Costa Rica, 1981: Diary; two drafts

4/29

    • Ecuador--Galapagos, [1962]: Three typescripts for "Cruise of the 'Westward'"

4/30

    • Ecuador--Galapagos, [1962 and 1973]: Diary (notebook)

4/31

    • Mexico, 1958: "A List of Birds Observed in Mexico" and "Accommodations in Mexico" (Dick with Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Sprunt Jr.)

4/32

    • Mexico--Baja, [1977]--Diary

4/33

    • Peru, [1978]: Diary

4/34

    • United States--Southwest, 1951: Diary

4/35

    • United States-- Texas, 1974: "King Ranch

4/36

 

 

Publications Illustrated by Dick

 

Promotional material and reviews for South Carolina Bird Life (1949)

5/1A

Reviews of Warblers of America ed. by Ludlow Griscom and Alexander Sprunt (1957)

5/1B

Promotional material and reviews of A Gathering of Shore Birds by Henry Marion Hall (1960)

5/2

Manuscript and promotional material for Carolina Low Country Impressions by Alexander Sprunt Jr. and John Henry Dick

5/3

"A Portfolio of East African Birds and Mammals"; 14 drawings in the Archbishop (Dec. 1966), unnumbered pages 19-22 (Brooks School, North Andover, Mass., where Dick was in the Class of 1938)

5/4

"Ardea's World" by Marjory Bartlett Sanger; article from Audubon (Jan./Feb. 1967), pp. 54-65

5/5

Six drawings in The Chat: Bulletin of the Carolina Bird Club, Inc., vol. 33, no. 3 (Sept. 1969).

5/6

Photocopies of fifteen drawings prepared for, but not used in Sweet, Wild World: Selections from the Journals [of] Henry David Thoreau arranged as Poetry by William White with illustrations by Georgia Dearborn (1982).

5/7

Promotional material and review of A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Salim Ali and S. Dillon Ripley (1983).

5/8

"The Nine Races of the Seaside Sparrow: Ammospiza Maritima"; offprints of a color plate published by the North Carolina Biological Survey (c. 1983).

5/9

Ephemera re Birds of China by Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee (1984)

5/10

Christmas card of the National Audubon Society (American Egrets, n. d.)

5/11

Promotional material for the reproduction of the Black Skimmer for the South Carolina Heritage Trust (1990).

5/12

Status and Distribution (1989)

5/13

 

 

Manuscript for a book on Indian birds by Ben F. King

 

(N. B.:  Dick's illustrations were originally prepared to accompany King's text, but were eventually issued with a summary text by Ali and Ripley)

 

  • Text with discussions of 1273 species (typescript, 733pp.)

6/1

  • List of birds to be depicted in 103 plates (typescript); annotated by Dick with completion dates for most paintings (c. 1971-1976).

6/2

  • Layout for pl. 7 by Dick (handwritten)

6/3

III.  PHOTOGRAPHS

 

 

 

Scrapbooks

 

[Photographs I], May-Jun. 1953 trip to Europe with principally black and white photographs of architecture, scenery, birds, etc.

Scrapbook

I

  • Spain: Madrid, Toledo, Escorial, Segovia, La Granja, Guadarrama Mountains, Granada, Algeciras, Gibraltar, Jerez, Cadiz, Sevilla, Italica, and Cordoba.

 

  • Morocco: Tangier

 

  • Italy: Rome, Tivoli, Assisi, Florence, Venice, Milan, and Lake Como.

 

  • France: Paray, Boulon, Bourges, Chartres, and Paris.

 

  • Great Britain: Severn Wildfowl Trust and Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

 

Photographs, II, J. H. D. May 1959-1961. Trips to Europe and within North America.

Scrapbook

II

  • Great Britain (with Alex and Margaret Sprunt): London (Kew Gardens), Severn Wildfowl Trust, Aylesbury Ring, Stonehenge, Castle Combe, Penshyrst Park, Alsbury Park, and Bass Rock (Scotland)

 

  • Italy: Florence (Oct. 1959), Fiesole, Urbino, San Marino

 

  • Guatemala (Mar. 1960): Quiche, Chichicastenango, Solola, San Salvador

 

  • Costa Rica: San Jose; rain forest.

 

  • Canada (Jul. 1960 with B and Elliott Hudson): Lake Louise, Banff, Jasper Park, mammals, Columbia Ice Field.

 

  • United States: California ( Monterey), Maine coast (Aug. 1960), and Connecticut

 

  • Ireland (Aug. 1961): Inishere Island, Aran, Inishmore, and Dingle.

 

“The Galapagos Islands, 1962." Voyage aboard the Westward from Panama to Ecuador.

Scrapbook

III

  • Panama:  Canal

 

  • Ecuador: Coco’s Island and Galapagos Islands (including Baquerizo Moreno, Chatham, and Barrington with illustrations primarily of endemic species such as the Galapagos Dove, Short eared Owl, Yellow

 

The Galapagos Islands, 1962, Volume II. Includes James Island and Marlborough Island and additional endemic species such as the Galapagos Hawk and Flightless cormorant. Additional photographs of a wide variety of birds, seals, penguins, iguanas, etc.

Scrapbook

IV

“ Alaska, 1963" (with Ralph Palmer and Bob Clem) Included Alutian Islands and particularly Cold Bay primarily with birds such as Murres, Rock Ptarmigan, Wheater, and Golder Eagles. Also includes some seals, bird nests, plants, etc.

Scrapbook

V

Kenya, 1964, vol. I (with Billy Coleman). Lake Magardi waterfowl (primarily several million flamingos), Nakuru, Lake Baringo, and Kakamega. Includes other types of birds, mammals such as lions and leopards, African warriors, and scenery.

Scrapbook

VI

Kenya, 1964, vol. II. Mara Reserve with Black Maned Lion, lions with cubs, sand grouse, elephants, antelopes, and scenery.

Scrapbook

VII

[Missing volume I on Africa, 1965]

Scrapbook

VIII

Africa, 1965, vol. II. Including Lake George (landscape, Whale-Headed Stork, and various other birds), Lake Naivaska (giraffe), and Lake Magadi and the Sarengeti Plains (leopards and cheetahs).

Scrapbook

IX

East Africa, 1967. Uganda: Murchison Falls, Kazinga Channel, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Masai-Mara Reserve with elephants, antelope, landscape, birds (including crowned cranes), and lions. Congo: Ishasha River (lions swimming across the river, leopards, vultures, eagles).

Scrapbook

X

Tierra del Fuego and Antartica, 1967." Straits of Magellan; Faulkland Island; Punta Arenas; Ushuaia: plants and birds. Antartica (Melchoir Station and Palmer Station): with Adelie Penguins, Chin-Strap Penguins, Cape Pigeons, petrels, seals, icebergs, etc.

Scrapbook

XI

Indian Ocean, 1970" (with David Garrity and Roger Tory Peterson on the Lindblad Explorer). Seychelle Islands (Mache, La Digue, Frigate, Cousin, Preslin, Bird, Amirante, Aldabra Atoll, Mayotte, Grand Comoro): Magpie-Robin, Seychelle Paradise Flycatcher, Seychelle Bush Wabler, White-throated Rail; Coco de Mere Palms (seedling and seed); tortoises

Scrapbook

XII

Bird Photographs. C. 1952-1959 (water damaged volume). Florida, 1952, 1956, and 1957 including Okeechobee and Dry Tortugas (1956). South Carolina: Santee Gun Club, Dixie Plantation, etc. including Bachman’s Warbler (first 3 photographs taken of this species), shore birds, ducks, cranes, etc.

Scrapbook

XIII

Bird Photographs II. C. 1959-1961. Farne Islands, 1959 (puffins, shags, gulls, terns, annnets, etc.). Scotland, 1959. Florida, 1960-1961: Corkscrew Sanctuary, Carribean Gardens, Naples, Marco Island, and Stuart. South Carolina: Bulls Bay, 1960-1961. California: Monterey, 1960; Texas: West Bay Island Sanctuary (near Galveston), 1961, with Roseat Spoonbills; Corpus Christi vicinity; Laguna Madre; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Primarily shorebirds.

Scrapbook

XIV

Bird Photographs III. C. 1960-1964 (water damaged volume). South Carolina: Bull’s Island, 1960, and Cape Romaine, 1963. Florida: Caribbean Gardens, Naples, and Stuart. Bahama: Inagua and Lake Windsor, 1963 (Bahama Parrot). Also, Bear River Refuge, 1964 (with the Sprunts; including Avocets) and Wasatch Mountains. Mostly waterfowl and shorebirds.

Scrapbook

XV

Bird Photographs IV. C. 1967-1969. South Carolina: Drum Island; Deveaux Bank, 1967 (before its destruction by Hurricane Hugo); Winyah Bay, 1968; Santee Gun Club; Bull’s Bay; Cape Romaine Sanctuary; Bank Island. Florida: Naples; Chokoloskee vicinity; Dickensen State Park; Hobe Sound; Corkscrew Sanctuary, and Stuart. Bahamas: Great Inagua, 1967 (flamingos). Maryland: Oxford vicinity, 1967. Massachusetts: Monamoy Island and Chatham vicinity. Mostly shorebirds and waterfowl.

Scrapbook

XVI

Bird Photography. C. 1970. Florida: Port Sewall, 1970; Corkscrew Sanctuary. South Carolina: Deveaux Bank, 1970 (before its destruction); Cape Romaine Sanctuary; Drum Island, 1970; and Santee Gun Club. Maine: Flat Island; Islesboro, 1970. Maryland: Oxford. Florida: Hobe Sound; Hell’s Gate Point. Panama.

Scrapbook

XVII

[Waterfowl I]. Misc. waterfowl worldwide; primarily ducks at Dixie Plantation and Caribbean Gardens (including the Laysan Teal). Also, Tanganyika.

Scrapbook

XVIII

[Waterfowl II]. Misc. waterfowl including ducks, geese, and swans. Partly photographed at the Severn Wildfowl Trust, 1961. Also the Dillon Ripley collection at Litchfield, Conn.; in Hawaii; and the Falkland Islands.

Scrapbook

XIX

 

 

Photograph Albums (loose-leaf binders with unmounted photographs)

 

Passports and portraits:  9 passports issued from 1937-1986 with records of Dick’s foreign travels through 1986 and a series of portraits from age 18 to 67.  A miscellaneous group of additional portraits dates from c. 1923-1979 and includes a series of 4 photos of Dick feeding ducks at Dixie Plantation.

Album

1

Early Photos of Family and Friends:  c. 1924-c. 1940.  Largely black-and-white informal photographs of Dick with his father, mother, stepmother, and brother. Also, a c. 1934 photo of a party on an ocean liner, fellow students at Yale University and elsewhere, the Dick family estate on Long Island, beach scenes, restaurant scenes, parties, boating, horseback riding, 8 professional photos of his father’s yachts Vixen and Firefly (c. 1930), etc.

Album

2

Miscellaneous travel:  c. 1937-1985.  Series of photographs of dick and others at a dude ranch in c. 1937 with horseback riding, cowboys, pheasants in pens, etc.  Also photos taken by Alex Sprunt Jr. at the Audubon Nature Camp of Texas in 1951.  Irish, Spanish, and Irish architecture, scenery, etc., c. 1954.  Safari scenes in Africa and India.

Album

3

Later friends:  c. 1946-1985.  Photos of Elliott and B Hudson, Gertrude Legendre, Nancy Smyth, and others (mostly unidentified color snapshots).  Informal pictures of Dick with friends hunting, fishing, on safari, etc.  Numerous photos of various boxers owned by Dick, particularly “Grits and Gravy”.

Album

4

Photographs of painting of birds:  A complete or nearly complete set of photographs and of color transparencies of the paintings by Dick for a Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (1983) before numbers and symbols were added.  (N. B.  Dick gave the original paintings to the Bombay Historical Society.)  A nearly complete set of photos of Dick’s paintings for the Birds of China by Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee (with 23 paintings of several hundred birds by Dick and by two other artists.  Photos of two early paintings by Dick, c. 1940 (?).

Album

5

Selected Birds:  two binders of cibachrome prints Dick had made from his best slides in 1983 with the intention of preparing a book on his photographs (approx. 5x7").  These photographs are undated and unidentified, but the slides are indexed.  Included are photos are of Bachman’s Warbler (with black-and-white copy negatives and prints).  The birds represented are from Africa, Antarctica, the Galapagos Island, and elsewhere.  See also binder 8.

Album

6-7

Selected other animals and wilderness settings: Dick also selected his best slides of a wide variety of other animals and wilderness settings for inclusion in his planned book of photographs and had cibachrome prints made.  The animals represented in groups of photographs include tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, deer, moose, antelope, mountain goats, water buffalo, giraffes, foxes, polar bears, rhinoceroses, hippopotami, seals, iguana, alligators, and fish (mostly approx. 5x7").  The landscapes include areas of Africa and Alaska (mostly approx. 7x10").

Album

8

Antarctica and southernmost South America:  A group of small prints from Dick’s first trip to the region in 1967 including birds, icebergs, landscapes, etc.  A smaller number of pictures are of the ship Lapataia, landing craft, and tour participants.

Album

9

Negatives:  Largely unprinted negatives of 43 rolls of 35mm black-and-white film taken in c. 1940 during travel in Canada (Banf), San Francisco, on cruise ships, of birds in captivity, etc.

Album

10

 

 

Family Photo Albums

 

Two small volumes of snapshots recording a trip to Europe in c. 1927.

 

  • Vol. 1 includes Azay-le-Rideau, Biarritz, and Dick at about age 8, his mother and father, his brother Billy (William Force Dick), etc.

Family Album

1

  • Vol. 2. Includes the same places as vol. 1 and also Milan, Venice, and the Lido.

Family Album

2

 

 

Album on Dixie Plantation:  A record made by while renovating Dixie Plantation to be his home in c. 1947. The photos include renovated house (interior and exterior), entrance, avenue, Dick himself, etc.

 

 

 

Matted photographs of wildlife, scenery, etc.; 12 items approx. 11x14" image size including two framed works

 

 

 

Slides:  approximately 8,000 color slides (stored in slide boxes).

 

IV.  CORRESPONDENCE

 

(N. B.: Dick rarely kept copies of the letters he wrote. Letters to him sometimes include manuscripts offprints)

 

 

 

Ali, Salim (co-author of Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent; extensive letters with arrangements for publication)

7/1

Archibald, George (International Crane Foundation)

7/2

Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic States, Inc.

7/3

A-misc.

7/4

Baldwin, William P. (Land Management Consultant; Dixie Plantation)

7/5

Beach, Virginia Christian (SC Coastal Conservation League with typescript of an extensive interview with Dick, 1991)

7/6

Birds of India correspondence--misc. (see also Ali, Ferguson, King, and Ripley)

7/7

Bombay Natural History Society

7/8

Brooks School ( North Andover, Mass.)

7/9

Brown, Leslie

7/10

B-misc.

7/11

Charleston Museum (E. Milby Burton, Director, South Carolina Bird Life)

7/12

Clem, Robert Verity

7/13

Coleman, William C. (typescript for "the African Lion," c. 1956)

7/14

College of Charleston (honorary doctorate, 1989)

7/15

Cruickshank, Helen (Mrs. Allan D.)

7/16

C--misc. 

7/17

DeSaussure, Charlton, Jr.

7/18

De Schauensee, Rodolphe M. (re birds of China)

7/19

Dick, John Henry (card to his mother, 1927; letter to his father, 1939)

7/20

Dick, Direxa V. (half-sister)

7/21A

Dick, Will K.  (half-brother)

7/21B

Duck Stamp design competitions, 1952-1953 and 1971

7/22

D-misc.

7/23

E-misc.

7/24

Ferguson, David A. (Fish and Wildlife Service re book on birds of India and Ben King) 

7/25

Fries, Waldemar H. (re all complete sets of Audubon's Birds of America)

7/26

F--misc.

7/27

Garden Club of America (re award arrangements)

7/28

Garrity, Devin A. (publisher of Devin Adair re arrangements for the publication of Carolina Low Country Impressions, A Gathering of Shore Birds, Warblers of America, and World of the Great White Heron; also re worldwide travels with Dick)

7/29

G-misc.

7/30

Hall, Henry Marion

7/31

Hanahan, Buist L.

7/32

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association

7/33

Hundley, Margaret H. 

7/34

H--misc.

7/35

International Crane Foundation (re trip to China to study rare cranes)

7/36

International Crane Workship, India

7/37

Legendre, Gertrude

7/38

King, Ben F. (extensive letters re initial project for a book on the birds of India)

8/1

Kleberg, Robert (King Ranch)

8/2

K-misc.

8/3

M--misc.

8/4

National Audubon Society 

8/5

Nature Conservancy (1977 annual meeting in Charleston)

8/6

N--misc.

8/7

Oberholser, Harry

8/8

Ker & Downey Safaris Ltd. (chiefly with Sidney P. Downey re trips to East Africa)

8/9

North Carolina Biological Survey (re print of Seaside Sparrow)

8/10

Petereson, Roger Tory (extensive correspondence world travels, visits to South Carolina, publications, etc.

8/11

Pettingill, Olin Sewall (re Bird Watcher's America illustrated by Dick)

8/12

Palmer, Ralph S. (Handbook of North American Birds)

8/13

Princeton University Press

8/14

Ripley, S. Dillon (co-author of books on birds of India; Director, Smithsonian Institution)

8/15A

Roesler, M. Stuart (re plans of a book on warblers)

8/15B

R--misc.

8/16

Seuss, Dr. (?; drawing)

8/17

Shackleton, Keith (extensive letters re painting, travel, etc)

8/18

Sinyh, Nirvair

8/19

Smythe, Henry B.

8/20

Sotheby Parke Bernet

8/21

South Carolina Waterfowl Association

8/22

Speer, Virginia Lee

8/23

Sprunt, Alexander Jr. (re Birds of South Carolina, Florida Bird Life [also partly illustrated by Dick, 1954], field trips together with Mrs. Sprunt, etc.)

8/24

Staats, Henry P. (typescript of "Two Kudus in One Day") 

8/25

Sutton, George Miksch (re Bird Watcher's America, Bob Clem, etc.)

8/26

S-misc.

8/27

University of South Carolina Press (re South Carolina Bird Life)

8/28

Visual Resources for Ornithology (re Bachman's Warbler)

8/29

V-misc.

8/30

Williams, John G.

8/31

W-misc.

8/32

Young, James Boswell

8/33

Y--misc.

8/34

Misc. unidentified correspondents

8/35

V.  TOPICAL FILES

 

 

 

Information about John Henry Dick

 

  • Biographical notes

9/1

  • Articles

9/2

  • Will

9/3

  • Bibliographical notes

9/4

  • Inventories and evaluations

9/5

  • Audio tapes recorded by Dr. Harry Freemen

9/6

  • Catalog of bird books owned (notebook)

9/7

  • Invoices for bird books purchased 

9/8

  • Invoices for art acquired

9/9

  • Paintings sold

9/10

  • Paintings exhibited (letter of receipt; catalog; announcement; clipping)

9/11

  • Misc. certificates, membership cards, etc.

9/12

  • Misc. artwork reproduced (Christmas card with a painting of ducks by Dick printed in c. 1945 by Will K. Dick; Christmas card of Tropic Bird published by Inagua National Park, Bahamas; drawing in report of the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Assoc., 1958-1959)

9/13

  • Misc. (Papuan art lent by Dick to the Gibbes Art Gallery in 1976, addresses, cards, etc.)

9/14

 

 

General topics

 

  • Audubon's Birds (articles including a copy of a typescript by Robert M. Mengel)

10/1

  • Bookcase owned by Mitchell King (given to Charleston Museum)

10/2

  • Currency (largely Chinese)

10/3

  • Bird banding

10/4

  • Birds sited in SC (1949 and n. d.)

10/5

  • Birds sited elsewhere ( Tucon, Arizona, checklist; unidentified locations)

10/6

  • Camera equipment (guarantee)

10/7

  • Duck stamps (two by other artists; misc. information)

10/8

  • Galapagos (article by Bob Bowman, 1962; corrected carbon copy)

10/9

  • Misc. notes (list of Christmas presents and preliminary notes for an outline)

10/10

  • Printed ephemera (programs, Christmas cards, etc.)

10/11

  • Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa (signed and extra illustrated by the author with two photographs of herself and two photographs of Kamande Gatora and his family, 1961-1962)

10/12

  • Passenger Pigeon (auction description and illustration of the mounted Passenger Pigeon with glass dome also contributed by Dick to the College of Charleston; article)

10/13

  • Jones and Shulze, Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio (misc. information on a book given by Dick to Bob Clem)

10/14

  • Taxidermy (catalogs primarily by Rowland Wards; invoices; etc.)

10/15

 

 

Information about Dixie Plantation

(N. B.: Plats are stored in a chart case drawer)

 

  • Misc. information (advertisement for sale in Country Life; clipping about the destruction of the main house; history [typescript]; title search; timber inventory; etc.)

11/1

  • Land acquired and leased

11/2

  • Cemetery of Old St. Paul's Stono (letters from Sophie S. [Mrs. Wm. H.] Jenkins re its history, preservation, and access)

11/3

  • Staff of Dixie (insurance for housekeeper Sarah Doctor and others)

11/4

  • Misc. financial information (invoices, certificates, etc.)

11/5

  • Tours held (1957, 1959, and 1983)

11/6

  • Vandalism

11/7

  • Birds acquired (correspondence, catalogs, invoices, etc.)

11/8

  • Animals acquired (correspondence, certificates, etc.)

11/9

  • Plants acquired (catalogs)

11/10

  • Guest book (1941-1945; guests of Dick's parents including Dick himself on leave from the Air Corps; occasional sketches by Dick and other)

11/11

 

 

Financial information

 

  • Franklin Cole & Co. (financial advisors)

12/1

  • Insurance

12/2

  • Income tax

12/3

  • Irving Trust Company

12/4

  • Adolph M. Dick estate (uncle)

12/5

  • Misc. (offer of financial services)

12/6

 

 

Misc. printed information on places visited

 

  • Africa

 

    • 1956-1971

13/1

    • 1980

13/2

    • 1982

13/3

  • Antarctica, 1974

13/4

  • Asia

 

    • China (Earthwatch), 1983

13/5

    • India, 1972

13/6

    • India, 1984

13/7

  • Australia, 1985

13/8

  • Europe ( Great Britain), 1953 and 1979

13/9

  • North America

 

    • Greenland and the Artic, 1974

13/10

    • Bermuda

13/11

    • Costa Rica 

13/12

    • Florida

13/13

    • Newfoundland

13/14

  • South America

 

    • Argentina, 1987

13/15

    • Brazil

13/16

 

 

Misc. printed matter

 

  • Carolina Plantation Society (1963, 1991, and 1992 membership booklets)

14/1

  • Wildlife identification cards by the National Audubon Society

 

    • Birds by Roger Tory Peterson (50 cards)

14/2A

    • Mammals by W. D. Berry (50 cards)

14/2B

  • Wreck and Sinking of the Titanic by Marshall Everett (book), 1912

14/3

  • Southside Sportsmen's Club of Long Island, 1959 (book)

14/4

  • Racquet & Tennis Club, 1980-1981 (book)

14/5

  • Book catalogs on birds (four)

14/6

  • Catalogs of sculpture and paintings of birds

14/7

  • Prospectus for Birds of the Pacific Slope by Andrew Jackson Grayson

14/8

  • Birds songs of Kruger National Park ( South Africa; two records)

14/9

 

 

Clipping Files

 

  • Land birds, A-W

15

  • Water birds

 

    • A-H

16

    • I-W

17

  • Mammals, A-W

18

  • Misc. animals, trees, etc., A-W

19

VI.  ARTIFACTS AND MISCELLANEOUS

 

 

 

Artifacts (box with medal presented by the Garden Club of America, plaque for winning the 1952-1953 Duck Stamp competition, plaque from the Charleston natural History Society as a Conservation award, box of oil paints, compote used as a paint pallet, Iwo Jima souvenir, etc.)

20

 

 

Miscellaneous Oversized Material (scrapbook with 1928 clippings largely about the Graft Zeppelin, enlargements of a photograph of Mrs. John Jacob Astor with a feather headdress, two photographs of Dick’s father and second wife including one with their children Will and Direxa, “Song of the Carolina Low country” for chorus and orchestra by Francis Thorne, calendars for 1985 and 1986 with appointments indicated, reproduction of Indira Gandhi holding a Pictorial Guide to the Indian Subcontinent, etc.)

21