Davis: John J. Crooke 171 



On one occasion J\Ir. Crooke was having a gun constructed by 

 an expert. Audubon's grandson happened in and seeing the new 

 gun asked for whom it was being made. He was told of ^Ir. 

 Crooke and his amusements and hobbies and remarked that he 

 had his grandfather's gun. ^Ir. Crooke, hearing of this, ex- 

 pressed a wish to secure a photograph of the gun, but the younger 

 Audubon said that if ]\Ir. Crooke would have a gun built for 

 him like the one being made, he would give his grandfather's 

 gun in exchange. This was done and Mr. Crooke paid $300.00 

 for the new gun. In later years he was afraid that the Audubon 

 gun might be lost, and so he presented it to the American Mu- 

 seum of Natural History, where it is at present on exhibition. 



!Mr. Crooke was also instrumental in finding the original plates 

 of Audubon's great work on birds, now in the American Museum 

 and elsewhere. j\Ir. Crooke himself had one of these plates 

 hanging below the medallion of John Torrey above his mantel in 

 the fire-proof room. Being interested in mines and manufac- 

 turing, he became acquainted with ^Nlr. Phelps, whose shops were 

 at Ansonia, Conn. Mr. Phelps one day told Mr. Crooke that he 

 had bought a lot of plates as scrap, and as they contained figures 

 of birds he might be interested in them ; they were up on the 

 second floor and he had better go and look at them. It did not 

 require much of an examination to show that they were the plates 

 of the large edition of Audubon's birds. Some of the plates had 

 been scored across the face, thus destroying the figures more or 

 less, but many others were in good condition. Mr. Crooke told 

 Mr. Phelps of his discovery and asked to be allowed to purchase 

 some of the plates. This he did, paying the price of scrap copper. 

 He took them off, under his arm, as many as he could carry, and 

 had them cleaned and rubbed with nickel and gold dust, which 

 brought out the figures. He then told Mr. Phelps what he had 

 done, and upon learning that the plates could be so restored, Mr. 

 Phelps sent the remaining perfect ones and had them treated like- 

 wise. Those that had been scored on the face Mr. Crooke thought 

 went into the smelter, which is much to be regretted. Later, Mr. 



