Adopt-an-Audubon Plate

The name Audubon is synonymous with conservation. Honoring this legacy, the Feel Guide exhibition was created to spotlight the fragile state of John James Audubon’s Birds of America held in the Museum’s archives.

The Charleston Museum is excited to announce our Adopt-an-Audubon Plate Program, in which plates from Volume I of Birds of America are available for adoption. Proceeds raised will fund the preservation of these extraordinary watercolors ensuring that many generations to come will be able to experience their beauty.

Opportunities to adopt range from $600 for an individual plate to $3000 for a five-plate set. More than one plate or five-plate sets may be adopted at a time!

The conservation of the first five plates of The Birds of America, Volume 1 is supported by The Dewberry Foundation. A complete list of additional works available for conservation can be found here.

Proceeds will fund binding repairs, paper washing and paper repairs, leather repair, digitization, and a clamshell box for storage completed by the Charleston Library Society’s bindery services.

Benefits include:

• Credit on the bird’s label whenever it is exhibited
• Recognition on the Museum’s digital donor board in the main lobby
• Museum memberships (depending upon adoption amount)
• For adoptions of $6000 or more, a copy of our 250^th anniversary book, The Charleston Museum: America’s First Museum
• For adoptions of $9000 or more, an invitation to a private “behind the scenes” tour (up to four people) of the Museum’s Archives and Storeroom

For tax purposes, The Charleston Museum is recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by the Internal revenue Service, and your gift may be tax deductible. Please consult your tax advisor for further information.

Our Adopt-an-Audubon Plate Program is a means to support the Museum’s Archives collections and should in no way be construed as obtaining an ownership interest in these collections.