Philip Henry Gosse (1810–1888) was an English naturalist and illustrator who spent eight months of 1838 on the Alabama frontier, teaching planters’ children in Dallas County and studying the native flora and fauna. Years later, he published the now-classic Letters from Alabama, Chiefly Relating to Natural History, which draws on detailed reports sent back from his visit and features twenty-nine important black-and-white illustrations. During his time in Alabama, Gosse also produced forty-nine watercolor plates of various plant and animal species, mainly insects, now available in Philip Henry Gosse: Science and Art in “Letters from Alabama” and “Entomologia Alabamensis.”
Series Description
The Gosse Nature Guides are a series of natural history guidebooks prepared by experts on the plants and animals of Alabama and designed for the outdoor enthusiast and ecology layperson. Because Alabama is one of the nation’s most biodiverse states, its residents and visitors require accurate, accessible field guides to interpret the wealth of life that thrives within the state’s borders. The Gosse Nature Guides are named to honor Philip Henry Gosse’s early appreciation of Alabama’s natural wealth and to highlight the valuable legacy of his recorded observations.
Advisory Panel
- Dr. Gary R. Mullen, Entomology, Auburn University (Emeritus)
- Dr. L. J. Davenport, Botany, Samford University
- Elberta Gibbs Reid, Birmingham Audubon Society
- Dr. E. O. Wilson, Zoology, Harvard University (Emeritus)