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Title
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The Great Auk: Sales of Birds and Eggs by Public Auction in Great Britain, 1806-1910
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Caption
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The Great Auk was once a seabird native to the North Atlantic. Hunted since prehistoric times, its numbers dwindled rapidly as sailors learned to hunt the birds along the sea cliffs of Iceland and Nova Scotia. To make matters worse, the last colony of Auks was nearly destroyed by a volcanic eruption off of Iceland in 1830, after which only 60 birds remained. Museums and collectors began to worry that they might disappear and paid to have 48 of the surviving birds killed for specimens, ironically dooming the species to extinction. The last two Auks in the world were killed to add to a businessman’s bird collection in 1844. The extinction of the Auk should be a sobering tale for us today. Will we wait until more species become specimens and collectables, or will we strive to protect species in their natural habitats before it’s too late?
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Creator
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Thomas Parkin
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Containing Publication
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Manuscript MS 660
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Date Created
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1911
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Publisher
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Burfield & Pennells
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Place of Publication
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Hastings, England
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Rights
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No Known Copyright
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Bibliographic Citation
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Thomas Parkin. The Great Auk: Sales of Birds and Eggs by Public Auction in Great Britain, 1806-1910: With Historical Notes and five Plates. London: British Ornithologists' Union, 1911. Manuscript MS 660
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Filename
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exh-vanishing_Parkin_001.jpeg
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exh-vanishing_Parkin_002.jpeg
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exh-vanishing_Parkin_003.jpeg
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exh-vanishing_Parkin_004.jpeg
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Case Number
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Extinction - What can we do about it?
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Item Number
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6
