Sprague, Isaac (1811-1895)

Isaac Sprague (1811-1895) was born in Boston and began his career as a carriage painter, but inspired by Thomas Nuttall’s “Ornithology”, he began drawing birds of eastern Massachusetts. Impressed by his work, Audubon recruited Sprague for an expedition to Montana in 1843. Sprague was charged with making drawings and measurements for Audubon’s finished work. On his return from the West, Sprague met Asa Gray and began creating illustrations for his publications, including the “Manual of Botany” (1856). Sprague’s art work also appears in Emerson’s “Trees and Shrubs of New England” (1848 1875) and Torrey’s “Plantae Fremontianae” (1853). Among Sprague’s popular books are “Flowers of the Field and Forest” and “Beautiful Wild Flowers”, both of which went through many printings. In 1882 he provided the artwork for George Lincoln Goodale’s “Wild Flowers of North America”.

Prints from this Publication are Quite Rare