they look well. They are to be extra plates only, so that you 

 need not use any hut the coppers on which they are, and 

 we will keep them for ourselves, Mr. Phillips, &. Mr. 

 Harris. 7 



The mention of Gifford simply confirms preparation of 

 her regular subscriber's copy of volume 4- Not only does 

 this letter not identify Gifford as a recipient of the extra 

 plates, it states precisely who was to receive them. 



It seems that Audubon could hardly have found two 

 more deserving friends than Harris and Phillips, each in 

 his own way a companion and supporter of Audubon's 

 immense undertaking. Each had his own pursuits in nat- 

 ural history and it is not surprising that these friendships 

 should have resulted in special copies of The Birds of 

 America. 



Edward Harris of Moorestown, New Jersey, accom- 

 panied Audubon more than once on his travels in the 

 American wilderness in search of birds. Harris seems to 

 have been readily susceptible to Audubon's expansive 

 enthusiasm, characteristically expressed in a letter of 

 1833, urging Harris to join him in his travels: 



Make up your mind, pack up your effects, shoulder your 

 flintlock and away to the Fields where Science awaits us 

 with ample stores the contents of which are the rarest 

 materials ever employed by Nature." 



Harris helped Audubon and his family in many ways and 

 on many occasions, and was particularly effective in 

 securing the numerous bird skins Audubon needed for 

 his studies and illustrations. All this help was proffered 

 in such an unassuming manner that Audubon was 

 prompted at one point to counsel Harris: "You are sadly 

 too modest my worthy friend. Indeed you are so modest 

 that you have more than once almost vexed me on that 

 head.' w 



Dr. Benjamin Phillips, a physician, zoologist, 

 and member of the Royal Society, lived near 

 the Audubons' London residence on Wimpole 

 Street. Like Harris, his assistance to Audubon 

 and his family seems to have been continuous and 

 ungrudging. Frequent references to Phillips in Au- 

 dubon's correspondence with others make it clear that 

 the doctor reliably performed many services in forward- 

 ing Audubon's work in London. Audubon was well 

 aware of the gratitude he owed to Phillips: 



Were I to mention the many occasions on which he has 

 aided me by his advice and superior knowledge of the 

 world, you would be pleased to find so much dis- 

 interestedness in human nature. His professional aid 

 18 too, valuable as it has proved to us, and productive of 



much inconvenience to him, has been rendered without 

 reward, for I could never succeed in inducing him to 

 consider us his patients, although for upwards of two 

 years he never passed a day without seeing my wife. I0 



Phillips successfully brought Henry Havell, the engrav- 

 er's brother, through a serious bout with influenza and 

 offered sound medical advice to other friends of the 

 Audubons' circle. 



Little correspondence between Audubon and Phil- 

 lips is available, and no documentary evidence has come 

 to light, other than that cited here, directly describing 

 Phillips's copy of The Birds of America. Phillips's own 

 accounts and views would be a welcome addition to the 

 story of the special copies of the folio Audubon and his 

 two friends prepared for themselves. We should proceed 

 by examining their plan of arranging Audubon's plates in 

 systematic order, from which arose the idea for the 13 

 extra plates. 



Since binding the plates in number order results in 

 an unsystematic arrangement of the birds, it was clear 

 from the start that a species index to the entire work 

 would make it far more useful to naturalists. As Audu- 

 bon's ornithological knowledge increased he began to 

 plan a complete systematic list of American birds that 

 would serve as such an index. As publication of The Birds 

 of America was drawing to a close in 1838, Audubon 

 turned his attention to the list and, with the aid of the 

 Scottish naturalist William MacGillivray, it was finally 

 published in June 1839 as the Synopsis of the Birds of 

 North America, in one small octavo volume. By binding 

 up their plates in Synopsis order, Audubon and his two 

 friends gave themselves the significant advantage of par- 

 allel text and plates; they could leaf simultaneously 

 through the two works without having to jump from one 

 to another of the mammoth volumes of The Birds of 

 America. 



The story of Edward Harris's copy of The Birds of 

 America is readily available in Audubon's correspon- 

 dence, yet not a word of it appears in Fries's study. In 

 numerous letters written to Harris between June 1834 

 and June 1836, Audubon kept Harris informed of the 

 preparation of his copy of the folio, described its binding 

 (done by Hering) as half leather with two locks, and 

 specifically mentioned the shipment of Harris's copies of 

 volumes 2 and 3." Then on 18 August 1837 he wrote 

 Harris: 



I will await your order with anxiety as regards your new 

 entire Copy, wishing to know from you whether or not 

 Mr. Berthoud [a relation by marriage who acted as one of 

 Audubon's business agents in America] has disposed of 

 the 3 Vols, you have with locks to a gentleman of Lond. 



