Carl Akeley Books

Carl Akeley (1864 - 1926) was a taxidermist, sculptor, biologist, conservationist, inventor and nature photographer, noted for his contributions to American museums. He is considered the father of modern taxidermy.

In 1909 Akeley accompanied Theodore Roosevelt on an expedition to Africa and began working at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where his efforts can still be seen in the Akeley African Hall.

In Brightest Africa by Carl Akeley (1923). Adventures in the African big game country gathering material for the Roosevelt Hall at the American Museum of Natural History. A pioneering taxidermist and sculptor, Akeley did much big game hunting of lion, buffalo, elephant and others, and was in Africa at the time of Theodore Roosevelt's famed safari. This is the book in which he describes how he killed a wounded leopard with his bare hands. Free eBook

Lion Spearing by Carl Akeley (1926) is the story of African Nandi warriors who hunted lions with spears. The plates depict the life-size bronze sculptures by Akeley, of such a lion hunt, now on display in the Chicago and New York Natural History Museums. Free eBook

Adventures In The African Jungle by Carl Akeley & Mary Jobe Akeley (1930)

Lions, Gorillas And Their Neighbors by Carl Akeley (1932) is the tale of his last adventure in the wilds of Africa alongside his wife and co-author includes his securing of the first ever motion pictures of gorillas, his experience of killing a leopard with his bare hands and the spectacle of lion-spearing.

Taxidermy And Sculpture: The Work Of Carl E Akeley In Field Museum Of Natural History by Carl Akeley (1927)

The Mentor Magazine January 1926 Issue. An article on Big Game Hunting and Collecting by Carl Akeley.

Books About Carl Akeley

Felix Sutton

Big Game Hunter: Carl Akeley by Felix Sutton (1960)

Penelope Bodry-Sanders

Carl Akeley: Africa's Collector, Africa's Savior by Penelope Bodry-Sanders (1991) is the life story of the scientist, explorer, hunter and taxidermy artist, who became one of the foremost collectors of African wildlife and a dedicated conservationist.

John T McCutcheon

In Africa: Hunting Adventures In The Big Game Country by John McCutcheon (1910) is an account of his African safari with Carl Akeley.

Delia Akeley

Delia Julia Akeley (1875 - 1970) was Carl Akeley's first wife. Delia accompanied Carl on expeditions to hunt and retrieve specimens central to the most important displays in the African sections of both the New York and Chicago natural history museums. Delia Akeley became increasingly occupied with a pet monkey called JT who was an extremely bright and jealous primate and she and Carl were divorced in 1923. Delia continued to travel widely in Africa leading her own expeditions and concentrating more on the ethnography of the more reclusive tribes such as the pygmies.

Jungle Portraits by Delia Akeley (1930) recounts her numerous adventures with her husband hunting elephant in Uganda, crocodiles on the Tana River and her tortuous experience rescuing Carl after he was pinned by an elephant. Free eBook

J T Jr. The Biography Of An African Monkey by Delia Akeley (1936) is a rather scarce book with many photos of J T with his African friends.

Mary Jobe Akeley

Mary Lee Jobe Akeley (1886 - 1966), was Carl Akeley's second wife whom he married in 1924 when he was 60 and she was 38. She was well-known as an explorer and naturalist before her marriage and upon her husband's death, she remained in Africa in charge of the expedition. She was named his successor as adviser to the American Museum of Natural History, at which the Akeley African Hall was named in their honour.

Wilderness Lives Again: Carl Akeley And The Great Adventure by Mary Jobe Akeley (1940) covers Akeley's work in producing museum exhibits of animals and his travels in Africa collecting specimens. This is the book in which Akeley's struggle with a leopard is described - he choked it to death and the picture of the wounded Akeley with the dead leopard is the frontispiece to the book.

Congo Eden: A Comprehensive Portrayal Of The Background And Scientific Aspects Of The Game Sanctuaries Of The Belgian Congo by Mary Jobe Akeley (1950) is a comprehensive portrayal of the historical background and scientific aspects of the great game sanctuaries of the Belgian Congo with the story of a six months pilgrimage throughout that most primitive region in the heart of the African continent.

Rumble Of A Distant Drum: A True Story Of The African Hinterland by Mary Jobe Akeley (1948) is a true story of a 10 year old boy who travelled with the writer during an expedition in the Congo, Uganda and Tangyanika. Included is information on the Watusi and other tribes.

Restless Jungle by Mary Jobe Akeley (1937) is a first-person account of the author's work in Africa during the 1920s and 1930s.

Carl Akeley's Africa by Mary Jobe Akeley (1929) is the account of the Akeley-Eastman-Pomeroy Africa Hall Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History.

Related Carl Akeley Books

Douglas J Preston

Dinosaurs In The Attic: An Excursion Into The American Museum Of Natural History by Douglas J Preston (1993) is a chronicle of the expeditions, discoveries and scientists behind the greatest natural history collection ever assembled - the collection of The American Museum of Natural History.

Elephant! by Carl E Akeley in 'Boy's Life' May 1924