Albert R. Brand

Albert Rich Brand (October 22, 1889 – March 28, 1940)[1] was an author and innovator in the recording of bird songs.[2] Herbert J. Seligmann wrote Man and Bird Together: A Portrait of Albert R. Brand about him.[3]

He was a stockbroker until age 39. At Cornell University he became a graduate student of ornithologist Arthur Augustus Allen. Brand collaborated with Cornell's engineering department to record bird songs, publishing two books accompanied by photographs.[4] His first guide book about bird songs was accompanied by a phonograph record of a few dozen calls. He followed it up with a sequel with even more recordings.[5]

He also recorded frogs. Sales of phonograph records of bird sounds were a key source of income for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.[6]

  1. ^ Bailey, Vernon; Allen, G. M.; Allen, Arthur A.; Humphrey, Harry B.; Murray, J. J. & Sprunt, Alexander (1941). "Obituaries". The Auk. 58 (3): 444–448. doi:10.2307/4078993. ISSN 0004-8038. JSTOR 4078993.
  2. ^ "Guide to the Albert Rich Brand papers, 1928-1940". Rare and Manuscript Collections. Cornell University Library.
  3. ^ "Herbert J. Seligmann papers 1894-1984". Archives & Manuscripts. York Public Library. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  4. ^ "Early milestones (1920-1950)". Macaulay Library. Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
  5. ^ Bales, Stephen Lyn (October 21, 2010). Ghost Birds: Jim Tanner and the Quest for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, 1935–1941. University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 9781572337176 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "History of the Macaulay Library". Macaulay Library. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Archived from the original on March 2, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2014.