Audubon's Anomalous Animals

In this episode, Odd Salon Fellow Stuart Gripman shares the true story of the scientifically undignified pranks of one of America’s greatest ornithologists, driven to his wits’ end by an unruly rival. 

In 1818, a not-yet famous John James Audubon was visited by a brilliant yet egotistical and sometimes churlish naturalist named Constantine Rafinesque. What started with an amiable conversation devolved into an ordeal as Rafinesque turned out to be a persistent, even destructive, house guest. The motivations for what Audubon did next are up for debate, but there's no question that he illustrated an array of fanciful creatures and presented them to Rafinesque as genuine. Even though his victim seemed to fall for the prank, Audubon's folly came at a price.

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