Synopses & Reviews
and#8220;See, there she is!and#8221; cried one visitor to the Centennial Exposition. and#8220;Just think! She killed all them animals,and#8221; echoed another. and#8220;There, thatand#8217;s her!and#8221; All during the hot Philadelphia summer of 1876, throngs of people pushed and shoved their way into the Kansas-Colorado Building, eager to catch a glimpse of the small, dark-haired woman responsible for creating the extraordinary display of bears, deer, and other mammals cavorting over a Rocky Mountain landscape. Curious, skeptical, friendlyand#8212;on and on they came, until the policemen stationed at the doors were hard-pressed to maintain control. The fairgoers were intent on seeing for themselves the and#8220;modern Dianaand#8221; who had come all the way from the wilds of Colorado.
Maxine Bensonand#8217;s finely crafted biography of Martha Maxwell illuminates the little-known but important career of a remarkable woman. Naturalist, taxidermist, museologist, artistand#8212;Maxwell pioneered in a number of fields new for women. Born in Pennsylvania in 1831 and educated in the Midwest, she traveled to the gold fields of Colorado with her husband in 1860.
A chance encounter with a German taxidermist determined her lifework, and Maxwell soon devoted her boundless energy to hunting and mounting all forms of Rocky Mountain wildlife, which she displayed in unusual habitat settings in her museum in Boulder and later in Denver. Her spreading fame led to an invitation to exhibit her collection at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, where she achieved international renown.
As Maxwelland#8217;s major scientific and artistic contributions to natural history taxidermy and display were recognized, her influence carried to the Smithsonian Institution. Separated from her husband and alienated from her daughter, however, she became increasingly unhappy as her professional accomplishments grew. Her tragic and lonely death in 1881 revealed something of the price she paid for daring to be different.
Like that of other accomplished women of her era, Maxwelland#8217;s fame did not keep pace with the significant influence she had on her profession. Thanks to Maxine Benson, Martha Maxwell now takes her rightful place in the history of the West and of the nation.
Review
"[The First We Can Remember is] a vibrant picture of women's experiences in the pioneering of the American West."and#8212;Bob Edmonds, McCormick Messenger
Review
"This collection makes a valuable addition to the published narratives of western women."and#8212;Dee Garceau, Great Plains Quarterly
Review
"A welcome addition to the bookshelf of pioneer studies, this work provides a critical primary source for undergraduates in the fields of history, cultural studies and womens' studies and highlights the need for additional work on the history and influence of CWA cultural workers."and#8212;Laura Woodworth-Ney, South Dakota State Historical Society
Review
"Highly enjoyable . . . Maxwell, called a and#8216;modern Dianaand#8217; in the popular press of her day, devoted her life to taxidermy, which she thought of and#8216;as a fine art, subservient to science.and#8217; A childhood love of animals developed into a hobby and then, to her daughterand#8217;s and husbandand#8217;s distress, a consuming, but never lucrative, profession. . . . [A] lively biography."and#8212;Journal of American History
Review
"Martha Maxwell was a most unusual pioneer, fully conscious of the feminist implications of her life and work. . . . Anyone interested in western womanand#8217;s history should not miss this book."and#8212;Western Historical Quarterly
Review
"Maxwell displayed not only a reforming zeal but also ambition and ability. But she paid a price for expressing an independent spirit. Her marriage dissolved and her relationship with her daughter was far from harmonious. . . . Martha Maxwell was more than just a field naturalist. . . . As Benson aptly describes, she expanded the horizon of opportunities for those who followed her."and#8212;Rocky Mountain News
Synopsis
Looking over the great prairie in the early 1880s, Nellie Buchanan said, and#8220;I knew I would never be contented until I had a home of our own in the wonderful West.and#8221; Some were not so sanguine. Mary Cox described the prairie as and#8220;the most barren, forsaken country that we had ever seen.and#8221; Like the others whose stories appear in this book, these women were describing their own thoughts and experiences traveling to and settling in what became Colorado. Sixty-seven of their original, first-person narratives, recounted to Civil Works Administration workers in 1933 and 1934, are gathered for the first time in this book.
The First We Can Remember presents richly detailed, vivid, and widely varied accounts by women pioneers during the late nineteenth century. Narratives of white American-born, European, and Native American women contending with very different circumstances and geographical challenges tell what it was like to settle during the rise of the smelting and mining industries or the gold rush era; to farm or ranch for the first time; to struggle with unfamiliar neighbors, food and water shortages, crop failure, or simply the intransigent land and unpredictable weather. Together, these narrativesand#8212;historically and geographically framed by Lee Schweningerand#8217;s detailed introductionand#8212;create a vibrant picture of womenand#8217;s experiences in the pioneering of the American West.
About the Author
Maxine Benson has served as a university teacher, state historian of the Colorado Historical Society, and publications director at the Kansas Historical Society. Sheand#160;is the author or editor of several books including One Thousand One Colorado Place Names.