commitment to surf lifesaving, his involvement in the Royal Australasian. Ornithologists Union (now BirdLife Australia) and more about his life. The social.
Australian Field Ornithology 2014, 31, 55–56
Review— Cayley and Son by Penny Olsen National Library of Australia, Canberra, 2013. Hardcover, 24 × 29 cm, colour plates, black-and-white photographs, 192 pp. RRP $50. It is easy to forget how lucky we are today. Five (at least) field guides, phone apps and the internet all make identification of a sighting easy. I must admit to be young enough for this to be all I have known (although there were only three field guides when I started). Before all this choice, however, there was only one field guide that illustrated the birds of Australia, and this was Cayley’s What Bird Is That? Although almost everyone will have heard of this book, the people behind the conception and completion of this book are less well known. Cayley and Son by Penny Olsen, part historical biography and part art portfolio, tells the story of the Cayleys—father Neville Henry and son Neville William. The biography of each person is lavishly illustrated with his paintings, and pictures and illustrations from his era. The life of each man is told chronologically, although this is followed less rigidly for Neville William than for Neville Henry. Following the text for each artist is a substantial portfolio of his work, each painting of which is reproduced full page. The text for both Neville Henry and Neville William is detailed and demonstrates a thorough researching of each man’s life. Despite this, I had a very different experience reading the two biographies. On finishing, I felt I had a much better understanding of Neville William than Neville Henry. In fact, my strongest thought about Neville Henry was that he moved house a lot! Perhaps this is a reflection of the sources available, but the biography of Neville Henry felt like a series of facts written in order, rather than a full picture of the man and his life. His family is mentioned only fleetingly: his marriage to Lois Gregory gets one paragraph, the birth of Neville William gets two sentences (as does his second child), whereas his third child gets only a single sentence. Even with these glimpses, his private life remains very much private. Even his death comes as a surprise—Neville Henry was ‘churning out paintings’, then you turn the page and ‘the next year, 1903, Cayley’s chronic kidney problems [which hadn’t been mentioned before] finally caught up with him’. Perhaps another reflection of the sources available, but the social context of Neville Henry’s life is also limited. With Neville William, we get a much better understanding of Neville William as a person, his family and the social context of the times. We learn about his commitment to surf lifesaving, his involvement in the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (now BirdLife Australia) and more about his life. The social context of Neville William’s life is also much better explained—perhaps because the history is more recent, or due to the strong theme running throughout of the
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book What Bird Is That? This book provides a structure, both chronologically and thematically, in which Neville William’s life can be reflected. The portfolios for both Neville Henry and Neville William are just that: approximately 50 works from each artist covering (mainly) birds, but also a small selection of mammals and other subjects. Some pictures from each artist are instantly recognisable (e.g. the famous kookaburra and magpie images), although others (I imagine) have rarely been included in print before. There were certainly many that I had never seen before. All demonstrate the skills with which both father and son portrayed their subjects. In combination, the portfolios take up over half Cayley and Son’s 192 pages, and there are numerous smaller illustrations from both men spread throughout the biographical sections. Although not great when considered against the modern era of digital photographs etc., these paintings are remarkable examples of their age and would be worthy content for a book in their own right. In combination, the biographies and portfolios are a great introduction to Neville Henry and Neville William Cayley. Furthermore the struggles, and eventual triumph, of father and son to bring their vision of a bird guide into being is a fascinating tale. The field guides that we take for granted today owe much to the vision of Neville Henry and Neville William, and now we have Penny Olsen to thank for bringing to life the father and son responsible. David Wilson Ecology and Heritage Partners, Melbourne
