Charles Walcott's Field Notebook Etched in Brass On Artblock

6 X 8 X 1 An historic day of discovery recorded in Charles Walcott's field notebook & now etched in brass on artblock. His handwritten notes on the historic day he discovered the great Phyllopod bed in the Burgess Shale. This comes with an informative label about the science behind the design. Each item is handmade & hand colored so there may be subtle variations from one to another. Each one is unique. The Field Notebook of CHARLES DOLITTLE WALCOTT A GREAT EARTH SCIENTIST August 31, 1909 was one of the ,most important days in the sciences of paleontology & geology. The day Charles Walcott discovered the great phyllopod beds of what is now known as the Burgess Shale. The Burgess Shale contains exquisetly preserved fossils of some of the earliest & most bizarre lifeforms on earth. His field notebook contains his handwritten notes on this historic day. Charles Walcott (1850-1927) was one of the most famous geologists & paleontologists of the late 19th & early 20th century. in addition to being a productive field & research scientist, with a long list of scholarly publications, he also served as the Director of the US Geological Survey, Secretary of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, president of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science & the National Academy of Science, & even acted as science advisor to Theodore Roosevelt. Walcott's main research interest was in the rocks & fossils of the Cambrian Period. in the winter of 1882-1883 Walcott spent 82 days deep in the Grand Canyon, studying its geology. He spent a great deal of time in the Canadian Rockies., often conducting field work with the assistance of his wife & children. Walcott is best known for his discovery & study of the Burgess Shale fauna (505-510 million years ago). This remarkable fossil site preserved not just a very diverse fauna & flora but many organisms lacking hard parts & thus forms rarely found as fossils. Many, many new & astounding species have been found by Walcott & his successors & the it continues to be a site of active field work & research. The Burgess Shale fauna is now known to be cosmopolitan, being found in Canada, the USA, Australia, & China. This graphic is of Walcott's field journal for August 31-Sept 1, 1909 at his Burgess Shale quarry in what is today Yoho National Park. The text reads Out with Helena, Stuart collecting fossils from the Stephen Formation. We found a remarkable group of Phyllopod crustaceans - Took a large number of fine specimens to camp. We continued collecting found a fine group of sponges on slope - Beautiful warm days. Paleontologists can recognize his sketches of the fossils Marella, Waptia, Naraoia, & Vauxia. All of these were species new to science! Charles Walcott's Field Notebook Etched in Brass On Artblock