The Albatross

The logo of Clarke Publishing Group is a stylized representation of an albatross. Why, you might ask, did you pick an albatross for your company logo? Doesn’t an albatross have negative connotations? Something about hanging about one’s neck?

The notion of an albatross hanging about one’s neck originates from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In Coleridge’s poem, the albatross is, in fact, a symbol of good luck, appearing to lead the Mariner’s ship to safer waters after being blown off course towards Antarctica. Unfortunately, the Mariner shoots the albatross with a crossbow dooming the ship to the currents and mists of the Antarctic waters. As punishment for this foolish act, the crew ties the dead albatross around the Mariner’s neck.

We chose the albatross as a symbol because the bird has long been regarded by seafarers as a guide in uncertain waters—and the waters publishers find themselves sailing through today are nothing if not uncertain. Clarke Publishing Group helps our clients navigate the currents and winds of the global information marketplace.

Some facts about the albatross:

• There are between 14 and 21 species of albatross (depending on which ornithologist you ask).
• The great albatross has the longest wingspan of any bird—up to 11 feet (3.4 meters)
• The lifespan of some albatross species exceeds 50 years
• Albatrosses have been known to mate for life
• Mating pairs of albatross will take as long as a year to raise a chick from egg to fledging.
• No one knows where albatrosses spend most of their time when not breeding (though this is one possibility)
• Albatrosses have their own desalination plant on their beak that allows them to drink salt water.