Scientist of the Day - Charles Johnson Maynard

California Sister butterfly, hand-colored woodcut by Charles Johnson Maynard, detail of larger plate in his Manual of North American Butterflies, plate VII, 1891 (Linda Hall Library)

Charles Johnson Maynard, an American naturalist, died Oct. 15, 1929, at the age of 84. He was born on May 6, 1845, in West Newton, Mass. and remained associated with Newton his entire life. He lost his father when he was 12 and had to work on the farm, being thus deprived of formal schooling, which was an impediment to his would-be career as an ornithologist. His love for birds (and butterflies, reptiles, snails, you name it) began early, and by the age of 21, he was trying to earn his living selling bird skins and other natural objects to collectors. He fared well enough to survive, but only just. He began making annual summer trips to the Bahamas, which both helped his business, and hurt it with his absence. But it was a golden age for ornithology in the Boston area, and he got to know most of the wealthier gentlemen ornithologists of the day, such as William Brewster and Elliott Coues.

Portrait of Charles Johnson Maynard, photograph, 1910s? (Wikimedia commons)

In 1873, Maynard was instrumental in helping organize the Nuttall Ornithological Club, and in founding and editing the Club’s Bulletin in 1876, the first ornithological journal in the United States. But when it came time to publish the second issue, Maynard ran off to the Bahamas on his annual collecting trip – he had to earn a living – and he was ousted from his editorial position by angry club members. When he got back, Maynard, angry in return, resigned from the club he had helped found. He remained on the outside of the ornithology profession for his entire life.

Various butterflies, including a comma at the center, hand-colored woodcut by Charles Johnson Maynard, in his Manual of North American Butterflies, plate V, 1891 (Linda Hall Library)

Maynard's redeeming feature was that he really did know his birds, and he was an excellent teacher. He led personal bird walks in Newton (for a small fee) and conveyed his enthusiasm and knowledge to a younger generation who didn't care what the establishment thought. Maynard published a great deal, but in journals and books that he often published himself, especially after 1900, when he did so exclusively. And by self-publishing, I mean he set the type, printed the sheets on his own press, cut his own wood blocks or drew on lithograph stones, hand-colored the prints, and bound up the volumes for sale. 

Wood nymph butterfly, hand-colored woodcut by Charles Johnson Maynard, detail of larger plate in his Manual of North American Butterflies, plate IX, 1891 (Linda Hall Library)

We have only two of Maynard's books in our collection, one on bird eggs (1890) and one on butterflies (1891), and we have used plates from them to illustrate this post. Since we acquired the library of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1946, this means one of the foremost scientific societies in Boston acquired only two of Maynard's books, and none of his really significant publications, such as The Birds of Eastern North America (1881). A copy of this beautiful book sold at Christie's three years ago for some $7500. It is a pity the AAAS did not pony up $3.00 for a copy back in 1881. Or that Maynard did not have the resources to gift them a copy.

Eggs of various birds, including a murre (bottom), and a loon (top), hand-colored woodcut by Charles Johnson Maynard, in his Eggs of North American Birds, plate 1 (frontispiece), 1890 (Linda Hall Library)

One of my favorite popular science authors, before she retired, was Pat Shipman, who wrote a book on Archaeopteryx and a biography of Eugene Dubois. When she and her husband did retire, they bought a vacation house on Little Cayman Island, and when they got there (this was about 2011), they discovered it was home to the world’s rarest snail, Cerion nanus, an air-breathing land snail that is only about a half-inch long and is found only on one kind of plant, a dwarf morning glory shrub, and indeed on only one small patch of that plant. The Shipmans were astonished to learn that it was discovered by Maynard back in 1888. How he got to the tiny island in the first place, much less found and described the snail, was a mystery, and still is. Dr. Shipman rooted out the self-published journal issue in which Maynard announced his discovery, and quoted from it. I can’t resist requoting the passage:

The island of Little Cayman is only ten miles long with an average width of two miles [sic], and is thus a mere spot in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, and the Dwarf Strophias [Maynard’s name for what became Cerion] occur in a space which is only five or six yards wide by twenty long, on this little key…. I consider that this species has the most restricted range of any animal with which I am acquainted.

Cerion nanus, the “rarest snail in the world,” discovered by Charles Johnson Maynard on Little Cayman in 1888, photo in article by Pat Shipman in American Scientist, 2011 (americanscientist.org)

Say what you want about Maynard, he had a relentless drive to explore and discover, and he possessed a very keen eye. You can read Dr. Shipmans’s entire article here.

The Charles Maynard House, where Maynard lived from 1897 to 1929, 459 Crafts Street, Newton, Mass. (Wikimedia commons)

The house in Newton that Maynard lived in from 1897 until his death has been preserved. The house was built on the family farm in 1897 but is now part of a residential district. Considering that Maynard was in dire financial shape his entire life, it is something of a mystery that he could afford to build it. I note that his mother died in 1897; perhaps there was a small inheritance. I have never been there, so I don't know if any part of it has been given over to a Maynard museum.

Gravestone for the Maynard family, including Charles Johnson Maynard, Newton Cemetery, Newton, Mass. (findagrave.com)

Maynard was buried in the family plot in the Newton Cemetery, with his wife, who died that same year, 1929, and his parents. I am guessing that the simple engraved headstone served them all.

William B. Ashworth, Jr., Consultant for the History of Science, Linda Hall Library and Associate Professor emeritus, Department of History, University of Missouri-Kansas City. Comments or corrections are welcome; please direct to ashworthw@umkc.edu.