This is a fine, original drawing of the Eastern North American chipmunk, Tamias striatus, a member of the squirrel family. It is signed, and dated 1836 by the American natural history, landscape, and portrait painter and engraver, Manneville Elihu Dearing Brown (1810-1896). "Trained ca. 1827-1831 as an artist in the prominent Boston lithographic firm the Pendletons, Brown entered the lithographic trade in Philadelphia in 1831 when he established his own shop at 5 Library Street. Brown served as the main lithographer and pressman of his shop and he designed and printed lithographs for the Floral Magazine (1832-1834); American Journal of Science and Arts (1832-1833); and Cabinet of Natural History (1830-1834). Brown also produced loose prints including portraits, city views, sheet music covers, and advertisements. In 1833, Brown engaged his former Pendleton colleague Nathaniel Currier as a lithographer for a year before Currier relocated to New York and Brown left Philadelphia and the trade under financial duress. The establishment despite being in operation until only 1834 produced some of the finest lithographs during the early years of the trade. During the early 1830s, Brown also drew for his former employers the Pendleton's New York firm in addition to exhibiting his artwork at the Artist's Fund Society of Philadelphia in 1835 and the National Academy of Design in 1845 and 1850. After 1834, Brown relocated to Upstate New York (Geneva and Utica) where he concentrated on portrait painting before he travelled to Europe where he studied art 1839-1849. Following this period, he returned to Utica and worked as a respected painter, particularly of portraits, until his death" (LCP). "Eastern chipmunks, the largest of the chipmunks, mate in early spring and again in early summer, producing litters of four or five young twice each year. The young emerge from the burrow after about six weeks and strike out on their own within the next two weeks. These small mammals fulfil several important functions in forest ecosystems. Their activities harvesting and hoarding tree seeds play a crucial role in seedling establishment. Chipmunks construct extensive burrows which can be more than 3.5 m (11 ft) in length with several well-concealed entrances. The sleeping quarters are kept clear of shells, and faeces are stored in refuse tunnels. The eastern chipmunk hibernates in the winter. Chipmunks play an important role as prey for various predatory mammals and birds but are also opportunistic predators themselves, particularly with regard to bird eggs and nestlings, as in the case of eastern chipmunks and mountain bluebirds. Chipmunks typically live about three years, although some have been observed living to nine years in captivity. Chipmunks are diurnal. In captivity, they are said to sleep for an average of about 15 hours a day" (Wikipedia). The present plate may have been intended for a successor of the Cabinet of Natural History and Rural Sports, which rather suddenly ended publication in 1834, or for another natural history publication. read more