"Naturalist" Frederick A Ober Hand Signed 2 Page Letter JG Autographs COA

Description

Up for auction "Naturalist"  Frederick A Ober Hand Signed 2 Page Letter Dated 1866.
This item is certified authentic by JG Autographs and comes with their Certificate of Authenticity.
ES-8582
Frederick Albion Ober
(February 13, 1849 - May 31, 1913) was an American naturalist and writer.
Ober was born February 13, 1849 in
Beverly, Massachusetts
. He received a common school education. While yet a boy, he evinced a fondness for natural history: he collected nearly all the birds of
New England
and noted their habits.
From 1862 to 1866 he had an occupation as shoemaker. Subsequently, he attended the
Massachusetts Agricultural College
but due to the lack of funds he was forced to leave the college after a short time. From 1867 to 1870 he worked as employee in a drugstore and again as shoemaker. In 1872, he abandoned his business pursuits to hunt in
Florida
. In 1874 he made a second trip, successfully explored
Lake Okeechobee
, and published in periodicals a description of the lake and its shores. From 1876 to 1878 he made ornithological surveys to the
Lesser Antilles
where he discovered 22 bird taxa new to science. Two of them - the
Lesser Antillean flycatcher
and the
Montserrat oriole
- were named in his honor by his colleague
George Newbold Lawrence
. In 1881, moved by a desire to see the vestiges of early American civilization, he journeyed through
Mexico
, and during that and two subsequent trips gathered the material for several books. On his return from various explorations he prepared accounts of his travels at the request of scientific societies, and later a series of popular lectures, illustrated with photographic views, projected by the
magic lantern
. His lectures, originally delivered before the
Lowell Institute
in
Boston
, included “Mexico, Historical and Picturesque,” “Ancient Cities of Mexico,” “The Mexican Indian,” “Adventures in the West Indies,” and “Through Florida with Gun and Camera.”
Ober was elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society
in 1893.
Ober died May 31, 1913, in his home in
Hackensack, New Jersey
. He was among the founders of the
Explorers Club
in 1904.