Raffle Breakfast and Open House

Win a Rare Piece of Natural History!

Enter our raffle for a chance to own one of four stunning Birds of Prey prints created during the historic United States Pacific Railroad Expeditions and Surveys (1853–1855). These prints were published as part of the 12-volume series, Reports of Explorations and Surveys to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean (1853–1861).

These groundbreaking expeditions explored over 400,000 square miles of the American West to identify routes for a transcontinental railroad. Surveyors, scientists, and artists conducted the surveys documenting the region’s geography, geology, wildlife, and Native cultures. The reports published by the U.S. War Department included vivid illustrations of the West’s fauna, flora, and landscapes, making them a vital record of natural history and Western exploration.

Don’t miss this opportunity to own a piece of history!

All proceeds from the raffle will go towards the Natural History Institute, helping connect people to the natural world.

Prints donated by Donna Larson.

Details:

Raffle tickets $10 each

Each ticket purchased increases your chance of winning! Winners will be selected randomly from the pool of eligible entries. Prizes are available for in-person pickup only; shipping is not available. Try your luck to win one of four stunning Birds of Prey prints!

Raffle ends April 11th, 2025 at 7pm. 

Option #1: Aplomado Falcon Plate I

Size: 15” X 17 ½” Framed

Value: $400.00

Raffle Ticket: $10 Each

This colored lithograph of Falco femoralis [Temminck] (Aplomado Falcon) is believed to have been drawn on stone by William E. Hitchcock, lithographed by Bowen & Company of Philadelphia, and likely hand colored by Bowen firm colorists or Lavinia Bowen.

The image was published as Plate I in the Zoological Report, Volume X, Part IV, No. 2 in A. L. Heermann’s “Report Upon the Birds Collected on the Survey (between San Francisco and Fort Yuma, California),” following page 80. The report was published in the larger volume “Report of Explorations in California for Railroad Routes to Connect with the Routes near the 35th and 32nd Parallels of North Latitude” by Lieutenant R. S. Williamson, Corps of Topographical Engineers. The volume was printed in 1859 by Beverly Tucker of Washington, D.C.

Option #2: Swainson’s Hawk Plate XII

Size: 15” X 17 ½” Framed

Value: $400.00

Raffle Ticket: $10 Each

This colored lithograph of Buteo swainsoni [Bonaparte] (Swainson’s Buzzard or Swainson’s Hawk) was published as Plate XII in the “Report On Birds Collected On The Survey by S. F. Baird.”

There are few results of any of the expeditions more interesting than the discovery by Captain Beckwith’s party that this hawk was abundant in the Rocky Mountains. The species first figured and described by Richardson and Swainson as the common buzzard of Europe -had been variously identified by American authors, but most agreed in supposing it to be the young bird of the western red-tailed hawk, now known as Buteo montanus. That such is not the fact, however, is clearly shown by Captain Beckwith’s collection, in which are three good specimens, all differing from each other, and one of them exactly in the plumage figured in the Fauna Boreali- Americana.

Option #3: Swainson’s Hawk Plate XIII

Size: 15” X 17 ½” Framed

Value: $400.00

Raffle Ticket: $10 Each

This colored lithograph of Buteo swainsoni [Bonaparte] (Swainson’s Buzzard or Swainson’s Hawk) was published as Plate XIII in the “Report On Birds Collected On The Survey by S. F. Baird.”

There are few results of any of the expeditions more interesting than the discovery by Captain Beckwith’s party that this hawk was abundant in the Rocky Mountains. The species first figured and described by Richardson and Swainson as the common buzzard of Europe -had been variously identified by American authors, but most agreed in supposing it to be the young bird of the western red-tailed hawk, now known as Buteo montanus. That such is not the fact, however, is clearly shown by Captain Beckwith’s collection, in which are three good specimens, all differing from each other, and one of them exactly in the plumage figured in the Fauna Boreali- Americana.

Option #4: Red-tailed Hawk Plate XIV

Size: 15” X 17 ½” Framed

Value: $400.00

Raffle Ticket: $10 Each

This colored lithograph of Buteo calurus [Cassin], now Buteo jamaicensis calurus or Red-tailed Hawk, is believed to have been drawn on stone by William E. Hitchcock lithographed by Bowen & Company of Philadelphia and likely hand colored by Bowen firm colorists or Lavinia Bowen.

The image was published as Plate XIV in the “Zoological Portion of the Reports by Lieutenant E. G. Beckwith, Third Artillery, upon the Route near the 38th and 39th Parallels, surveyed by Captain J. W. Gunnison, Corps of Topographical Engineers, and upon the route near the Forty-First Parallel, surveyed by Lieut. E. G. Beckwith, Third Artillery.” The report was published in volume X of the “Reports and Surveys to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean … 1853, 1856, Volume X,” printed in 1859 by Beverley Tucker of Washington, D.C.