The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, Vol. 1

Therefore, I consider it a unique happiness—after several years of travel and investigation in such distant regions (supported by the generous encouragement of several of your Majesty’s subjects, distinguished by their high rank and their reputation as patrons of learning)—that I am the first who has had the opportunity of presenting to a Queen of Great Britain a sample of the previously ignored, yet beneficial and beautiful natural products of your Majesty’s dominions. Catesby refers here to the flora and fauna of the American colonies, which were then under British rule.

most humble,
and most dutiful Subject

M. CATESBY. Mark Catesby (1683–1749) was an English naturalist who published the first comprehensive survey of the flora and fauna of North America.