Naturalist and painter John James Audubon published his magnificent work on the birds of North America over 11 years between 1827 and 1838, in Edinburgh and London. The work contains 435 hand-coloured, life-size prints, created from engraved plates. The original edition of The Birds of America, sometimes called the 'Double Elephant Folio', because of its size was printed on handmade paper 39.5 inches tall by 28.5 inches (99 by 66 cm) wide. The principal printing technique was copperplate etching, but engraving and aquatint were also used.
The set of images included five extinct birds and three more possibly extinct birds: Carolina parakeet, passenger pigeon, Labrador duck, great auk, pinnated grouse, and, possibly, the Eskimo curlew, Ivory-billed woodpecker, and Bachman's warbler. There are five more images of 'mystery birds' not identified with any extant species: Townsend's Finch, Cuvier's Kinglet, Carbonated Swamp Warbler, Small-headed Flycatcher and Blue Mountain Warbler.
This beautiful new edition includes all 435 of Audubon's images, presented with printed edges and gold blocking. The birds are arranged in their modern taxonomic order as agreed by the International Ornithological Congress (IOC). The set of plates is accompanied by a full index of the birds, including the name given by Audubon, their modern name and scientific name. A superb gift edition for anyone interested in birds and art.