Description
The Complete Edition of Audubon's classic work
The Birds of America is one of the best known natural history books ever produced and also the most valuable - a complete set sold at auction in December 2010 for £7.3 million, which is a world record for a book.
First published in double elephant size (approximately a metre tall) in the first half of the nineteenth century, it is famous for its stunning life-size illustrations of birds set within landscaped backgrounds.
The book was issued in parts over 11 years and only around 200 completed sets were ever produced. Less than 120 of these survive today, locked away in museums, galleries and private collections around the world. One such copy is currently on display in our exhibition Birds of America until 8th May 2022.
To create this edition of Audubon's masterpiece, the Natural History Museum's own original edition was disbound and each of the 435 beautiful hand-coloured prints was specially photographed. The artworks are accompanied by the scientific descriptions that were used in the original The Birds of America and there is also a new introduction by David Allen Sibley.
Publisher: The Natural History Museum
Pages: 448
