xviii EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 



merge this data with the extensive collections he had in Cambridge. 

 The result of his labors would be a series of ten monographs that 

 would detail the entire natural history of the United States. 



Thus the idea of the Contributions to the Natural History of the 

 United States was born in the imagination of the man who con- 

 sidered himself America's first naturalist. It was appropriate that he 

 turned to the populace at large for material support, since his books 

 would represent 



an American contribution to science, fostered and supported by the patronage 

 of the community. ... I hope in this way to show my friends in Europe that 

 American naturalists have entered upon a fair competition with the scientific 

 labors of the old world, and that they aspire, with a generous ambition, to 

 achieve their scientific independence . . .^ 



In this venture the congenial alliance Agassiz had made with rich 

 and influential men in New England served him well. Francis Calley 

 Gray, patron of science and wealthy manufacturer, proposed a 

 scheme whereby the publishing house of Little, Brown, and Com- 

 pany agreed to produce the volumes if an advance sale of 450 sub- 

 scriptions could be secured. A prospectus detailing the character of 

 this effort undertaken, Agassiz asserted, "for no other purpose than 

 to contribute my share towards increasing the love of nature among 

 us," was sent to thousands of people in America and Europe. 



Between 1855 and 1857 Agassiz's campaign for subscriptions was 

 paralleled by a similar quest for still more specimens of natural 

 history, in this case turtles and turtle eggs needed to supply zoologi- 

 cal and embryological material for the first two volumes. It is im- 

 possible to imagine how any literate American of these years could 

 have been unaware of Agassiz's grand effort, so widespread were the 

 publicity and collecting activities of the naturalist and his friends. 

 The results were predictable, since they were a simple reflection of 

 the prestige and influence Agassiz enjoyed. By late 1856 he had 

 thousands of turtles, was assured of over 2,500 subscribers and at 

 least $300,000 in advance sales for the entire printed series. "I do 

 not think Humboldt himself could obtain in all Europe . . . such 

 a subscription for so expensive a work," Agassiz proudly reported to 



* Printed Prospectus announcing Contributions to the Natural History of the United 

 States, May 28, 1855, p. 4, Agassiz Papers, Houghton Library, Harvard University. 



