Abstract
THE grave has recently closed over the remains of a very remarkable man, and although the annals of science, we are proud to think, afford many instances of indomitable energy and unceasing perseverance rewarded, they have no greater record of success than is to be found in the life of John Gould. No one can regard the series of works written and illustrated by him without acknowledging that they are a monument of human energy, and the story of his life makes the fulfilment of these large enterprises the more interesting. In the character of the man we must look for the secret of his success, because it is well known that he possessed neither the advantages of wealth nor education at the commencement of his career, and yet he has left behind him a series of works the like of which will probably never be seen again; and this because it is rare to find the qualities of a naturalist, an artist, and a man of business combined in one and the same person. John Gould was all these in an eminent degree; he knew the characters of birds as well as any man living, and although it has often been said that he made too many species—and latterly it has been the fashion with certain writers to sink a good many of them—yet the monographer, travelling over the ground again, generally finds that the critic, and not Gould himself, was at fault. As an artist he possessed talent combined with the greatest taste, and this, added to the knowledge of botany, acquired in his early days, enabled him to give to the world the most beautiful series of pictures of animal life which have yet been produced. Certain special works, where the pencils of Wolf or Keulemans have been employed, many vie with those of Gould, but taken in a collective sense, his splendid folios, full of coloured plates, are as yet without a rival. That he was a good man of business the fact that his writings were not only self-supporting, but further realised him a considerable fortune, is the best proof. Though in outward seeming he was stern and even some-what brusque in manner, those who knew him well can vouch for the goodness of his heart, and can tell of many an act of kindness and charity, concealed from the world under a bluff exterior, and no one ever heard him speak unkindly of any of his contemporaries. Straightforwardness was one of his especial characteristics, as well as an exact manner of doing business, paying for everything the moment the work was done; and this probably accounts for the way in which his artists, lithographers and colourers, worked for him for long periods of years.
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John Gould, F.R.S. . Nature 23, 364–365 (1881). https://doi.org/10.1038/023364b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/023364b0