Thomas Bewick

   The greatest collections spring from the greatest collectors. Collecting, according to Eric Sloane, involves three separate senses: instinct, opinion and knowledge. We are all born with instinct and we all soon develop opinion, but the acquisition of knowledge is laborious and slow. Few cultivate the patience necessary to possess knowledge. Adding to Sloane's three senses are the rewards of collecting: the exploits or adventures of finding, the joy of collecting itself and of giving. This troika of satisfaction must be complete, for without one of the three pleasures of finding, collecting or giving, the satisfactions of collecting languish unrealized. For example, the art of finding is high adventure for most collectors. Almost anyone can go and buy treasures, but the hunt can be an end in itself. The art of collecting implies connoisseurship and separates the collector from the compulsive accumulator. The collector discriminates, chooses and shrewdly adjudicates the character and dimensions of his or her collecting. The collector becomes a virtuoso of sorts within the defined arena of interests. Lastly, and frequently the most fun of the three, the collector gives. This third aspect defines collecting as an art of living - one that ennobles the spirit and stretches the mind. Without it, the collector hoards and partakes of the poverty of miserliness.

       The materials on Thomas Bewick here presented all come from the collection donated by Mary and Mavis Kelsey of Houston. The Kelsey passion for collecting burns with a clear blue flame. The Kelseys find, collect and give, with erudition and conviction. It is a genuine pleasure to present this sampler of Bewick's genius that we have gathered from the Kelsey Collections in Special Collections.