The Corvid Benevolent Society is a unique artist’s book created from an antique Victorian photo album.  Its original celluloid covers remain intact but the endpapers and photo display pages have been repaired, replaced and altered.  Mounted on the display pages are ten collaged antique cabinet cards,* depicting a few members of the venerable Corvid Benevolent Society, an imaginary organization created by Victorian bird lovers to honor and protect all species of corvidae – crows and ravens.  Each member has poses with his or her favorite bird, gigantic wild bird eggs and/or nests of various proportions, and a vintage calling card is included for each.  The Society’s motto:

Menti da Lucem, Manibus Corvus

(“Light in the Mind, Crow in the Hands”)

* Cabinet cards, generally 4x6 inches in size, were wildly popular in America from 1870 through 1900, typically with sepia photographs of unsmiling Victorians posed in their formal finery, often with elaborate backdrops and accessories.