"2IO Shufeldt and Audubon, Audubonia. T Oct 



special superiority claimed for it lies in the fact, that it is a 

 camera-portrait, and consequently portrays its every line true 

 to life. It was not so very long ago when one of the writers of 

 this article discovered in the possession of Professor T. W. 

 Smillie, the well-known photographer of the United States 

 National Museum of Washington, a daguerreotype of Audubon, 

 that belonged to Mrs. Grimshaw, a daughter of Mrs. Nicholas 

 Bei thoud, and a niece of Mrs. Audubon's, who had placed the 

 treasure on deposit in the above-named institution. Mrs. 

 Grimshaw kindly consented to our having a photographic copy 

 made of this daguerreotype, which was accomplished through 

 the consummate skill of Professor Smillie, and with the cour- 

 teous permission of Doctor G. Brown Goode, the distinguished 

 officer in charge of the National Museum. From this excellent 

 photograph has been made the admirable plate which illustrates 

 the present paper. A picture so fine as this one surely 

 requires no comments on the part of its contributors to 'The 

 Auk' ; it has but to be seen by any of its readers to be admired. 

 From all that we have been able to gather, it would seem that 

 this daguerreotype was taken by Brady of New York City some 

 time during the summer of 1S50. As the naturalist was born, 

 as near as we have been enabled to ascertain the date, some 

 time in May, 17S0, and died on the 27th of January, 1S51, this 

 picture must have been obtained when he was in the seventieth 

 year of his age, and at a period only a few months prior to 

 his death. With the view of obtaining as full a history of it as 

 possible, we recently placed ourselves in communication with 

 the Rev. Dr. A. Gordon Bakewell of New Orleans, La., one of 

 the most charming of the old-school divines of the Episcopal 

 church, who is a son of Thomas Bakewell, and was a favorite 

 cousin of the late John Woodhouse Audubon, the father of the 

 co-author of the present article. 



Doctor Bakewell writes us that Mrs. Gordon, one of Mrs. 

 J. J. Audubon's sisters, just before her death, presented the 

 daguerreotype to Mrs. Grimshaw, and that the former received 

 it direct from the wife of the naturalist. "It was the last picture 

 taken from life shortly before Mr. Audubon died, and it certainly 

 is very like him, when I last saw him toward the latter end of 

 his earthly journey." 



