View Document

Biography of Ed Andrews

Little is known of ornithologist Ed Andrews, a contemporary and apparent friend of Egmont C. Rett, a Colorado Museum of Natural History taxidermist. Rett in 1923 moved to California and went on to serve the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History as curator of ornithology and mammalogy.

Andrews collected his specimens around Estes Park. He donated his typewritten notes concerning his collection of bird specimens and eggs, along with Rett's typewritten field notes and log for his bird collection to the Colorado Museum, now the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. He was known to Alfred M. Bailey and Robert Niedrach, also ornithologists with the Colorado Museum. The pair mention his collection efforts in their publication Birds of Colorado.

Biography of Egmont Rett

Egmont Zachary Rett, a largely self-educated ornithologist and mammalogist, was born in Denver in 1897. He began his scientific career at the age of 13, when he was hired as an apprentice at the Colorado Museum of Natural History, now the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. The son of a sculptor, Rett himself became a sculptor as well as a photographer and taxidermist. These skills served him well in his long career as a naturalist. He frequently took his interest in birds and other animals into the field, and early in his career he authored two short papers on Colorado birds. "Downy Woodpecker" and "Canada Warbler" both appeared in Auk in 1918. In 1923, Rett was hired by the Museum of Comparative Oology, now the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, in Santa Barbara, California. His first job there was chief bird preparator, and he went on to serve that institution as curator of ornithology and mammalogy for nearly 40 years. He died in 1963.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The collection, contained in one 7 x 10 x 1-inch binder, includes the typewritten notes of Ed Andrews concerning his collection of bird specimens and eggs and the typewritten field notes and log of Egmont Rett for his bird collection.

The Andrews notes include field notes in journal form concerning the location, elevation, and behavior of the specimens before collection and notes on how they were collected. Andrews' bird collections occurred between June 20, 1901 and July 4, 1909, in the Denver, Colorado, vicinity. The journal is organized by date and then by species.

Rett's field notes from May 20, 1917, to May 7, 1922, are narratives describing collecting birds in Colorado and are organized by date. These notes include the location and method used to collect the specimens, as well as sighting notes on birds not collected. Rett's log lists the date, species, location and sex of the individuals collected and identifies the name of the collector of specific specimens. It notes bird collections in the Denver and Santa Barbara, California, areas. It is organized by date and then by species.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Collection open for research use.

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Use with permission of the Archivist.

Preferred Citation

Ed Andrews Papers, Alfred M. Bailey Library & Archives, Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Acquisition Information

Gift from Ed S. Andrews

Index Terms

These records are indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Alfred M. Bailey Library & Archives:

Birds--Colorado.

Ornithology--Field work.

Bird watching--Colorado.

Rett, Egmont Z.

Detailed Description of the Collection

IA.AD-03-21-96 
Field notes of Ed Andrews and Egmont Z. Rett, Estes Park, Co  1901-1925

1 3-ring binder, 7 x 10 x 1.25 inches