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Birds of wonder

Birds of wonder painting

John James Audubon’s ‘Birds of America’ is one of the library’s largest, heaviest and most expensive books. Audubon travelled around Britain, promoting his work which he hoped to finance by subscription. The large life size illustrations of every one of the bird species of North America are hand coloured.

Reference: John James Audubon, Birds of America (1827-30) E096/1827

You can continue to explore some of our rarest and most valuable items in the Treasures of the Library gallery.

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