John Drayton was the only North American subscriber to George Edward's first volume of work titled A Natural History of Uncommon Birds (1743). John Drayton's portfolio of 48 watercolors are the oldest of their type to survive in North America. Twenty one of the original works now comprise The Lenhardt Collection of George Edwards Watercolors at Drayton Hall.
The final rendering in the portfolio is that of a blue jay, a native of North America that is easily identified by its vibrant blue plumage and distinctive pronounced crest. Edwards illustrated and described the blue jay as plate 239 in his Gleanings of Natural History (London, 1758). The specimen that Edwards used for his drawing came from South Carolina and belonged to Mr. Elliot, a merchants at the Old South- Sea House in London. Edwards noted that Catesby had also illustrated and discussed the blue jay in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands (London, 1731-1743) as plate 15, but points out that he feels the bird was much more beautiful in reality than Catesby had described it.
(843) 769-2600
info@draytonhall.org
3380 Ashley River Road
Charleston, SC 29414
Drayton Hall's main house and landscape are open to the public weekly Wednesday through Monday from 9 am to 5:00 pm (gate closes at 3:30 pm). CLOSED on Tuesdays. The gate will accept no cash transactions.
