Birds of America
Written and illustrated by John James Audubon
Published by the author in London, England
4 volumes, 1827–1838
Dimensions: 40 x 30 inches (approximate)
Gift of the family of John Sherwin, Jr., 1947
The first-edition double-elephant folio set of Audubon’s Birds of America is one of the most important treasures in the Museum’s Rare Book Collection.
Beginning in about 1820, Audubon set out to paint every North American bird in its natural habitat in poses that illustrated the identifying features of each species.
Featuring 1,065 birds representing 489 species, Birds of America consists of 435 hand-colored engravings of Audubon’s paintings. While he oversaw the entire publishing venture himself, the prints were produced from plates crafted by noted engraver Robert Havell, Jr. The plates were produced serially from 1826 to 1838, and distributed to subscribers unbound in sets of five.
Audubon was committed to depicting each bird in actual size and, to that end, he used the largest paper available—handmade and measuring 39.5” tall by 26.5” wide.
The entire collection of prints sold to subscribers for about $900 (roughly $15,000 today). Because of this and the extended collection period, it’s estimated that no more than 200 complete sets were ever assembled. Collectors were responsible for binding the prints themselves.
