by David L. Witt | May 3, 2021 | Seton Essays
Seton Illustration from The Century Magazine The revered, elderly, lyrical naturalist John Burroughs attacked Seton as a “Nature Faker” in an article entitled “Real and Sham Natural History,” appearing in the March 1903 issue of Atlantic Monthly. This hurt...
by David L. Witt | Apr 26, 2021 | Guest Writers
Bear camouflaged within pine branches This is the second installment of John Burroughs’ 1903 attack on the credentials of Ernest Thompson Seton as a legitimate “naturalist.” Burroughs published a long essay calling into the question to accuracy of several writers. At...
by David L. Witt | Apr 23, 2021 | Guest Writers
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus in adopted natural habitat outside my window By the beginning of 1903 Seton had experienced a four-year run of extraordinary book sales successes beginning with Wild Animals I Have Known. While this good fortune would last for another two...
by David L. Witt | Apr 2, 2021 | Guest Writers
Author photo from Eccentricities of genius Lecture organizer James B. Pond (1838-1903) propelled Ernest Thompson Seton to great success in the “Lyceum business” in the year following the publication of Wild Animals I Have Known (1898). Pond represented Mark Twain and...
by David L. Witt | Mar 31, 2021 | Seton Biography
Seton Lecture Poster, ca. 1910 The extraordinary effort and hours Seton had previously put into commercial art now went into his writing career. Two Little Savages became yet another outstanding success, outselling five popular natural history titles published...