The Birds of America

by John James Audubon, David Allen Sibley (Introduction)

There is nothing in the world of fine books quite like the first discovery of Audubon. The giant energy of the man, his power of achievement and accomplishment, give to him something of the epical force of a Walt Whitman or a Herman Melville...--Sir Sacheverll Sitwell

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Reference, Birds, Animals

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1838

About the author

Such volumes as The Birds of America (1827-1838) collect naturalistic detail and artistic sensibility of noted engravings of Haitian-born ornithologist John James Audubon.

This able French painter expansively studied to document all types, and his illustrations depicted habitats. People consider his finest major work, a color-plate book, entitled and ever completed. Audubon identified 25 new species.

After 1819, Audubon went bankrupt, and people threw him into jail for debt. He drew portraits, particularly death-bed sketches, which country folk greatly esteemed before photography, to earn the little money. He wrote, "[M]y heart was sorely heavy, for scarcely had I enough to keep my dear ones alive; and yet through these dark days I was being led to the development of the talents I loved."

Audubon made some excursions west, where he expected to record species that he missed, but his health began to fail. In 1848, he manifested signs of senility, his "noble mind in ruins." He died at his family home. People buried body of Audubon close to the location of his home at 155th Street and Broadway in Manhattan, city of New York. An imposing monument honors him at the cemetery, the center of the heritage rose district.

Influence of Audubon on history reached far. His high standards inspired nearly all later works. Charles Darwin quoted Audubon three times in On the Origin of Species and also in later works. Despite some errors in field observations, he made a significant contribution to the understanding of anatomy and behavior. People still consider the greatest examples of book. Audubon discovered 25 new species and 12 new subspecies.

In recognition of his contributions, people elected him to the royal society of Edinburgh and the Linnaeans.

The open homestead of mill grove in Audubon, Pennsylvania, contains a museum, presenting and including all his major works, to the public.

The museum at state park in Henderson, Kentucky houses many of his original watercolors, oils, and personal memorabilia.

In 1905, people incorporated and named the national Audubon society in his honor. Its mission "is to conserve and restore ecosystems, focusing on birds..."

The postal service of the United States honored him with a 22¢ great series stamp.

On 6 December 2010, auction of Sotheby sold a copy for $11.5 million, the second highest price for a single printed book.

On 26 April 2011, Google displayed a special doodle on its global homepage to celebrate his 226th birthday.

Named:

Audubon park in New Jersey. He drew many street signs in Audubon Park.
Audubon, Pennsylvania, also has the Audubon sanctuary. Most of the streets in this small town are named that he drew.
Audubon Elementary School, Audubon, Pennsylvania
The Audubon Institute, a family of museums, parks and other organizations in New Orleans, eight of which bear the Audubon name.
The Audubon Park and country club in Louisville, Kentucky is in the area of his former general store.
Several towns and Audubon County, Iowa.
In Louisiana, John James Audubon Bridge (Mississippi River); Audubon Park & Zoo, New Orleans.
The northbound span of the Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Bridges was originally named the Audubon Memorial Bridge.
John James Audubon State Park and the Audubon Museum (located within the park) in Henderson, Kentucky.
Audubon Parkway, also in Kentucky, is a limited-access highway connecting Henderson with Owensboro, Kentucky.
Rue Jean-Jacques Audubon in Nantes and Rue Audubon in Paris.

Reviews

[Steffi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieser Buchtitel ist mir als großer Vogelfreundin schon lange ein Sehnsuchtstitel. Das Original gehörte jahrelange zu den teuersten Büchern der Welt, mit über 8 Millionen Euro, die einzelne Exemplare bei Auktionen erzielten. Dass es nun eine sehr gute Reproduktion gibt, war mir gar nicht klar, ich entdeckte das Werk gerade erst nochmal deutlich reduziert im Modernen Antiquariat. Da schleppt man doch gerne einen solch schweren Ziegel nach Hause.

Die großformatigen Darstellungen von Vögeln gefallen mir tatsächlich außerordentlich gut, auch wenn man als Europäerin natürlich großen Teils andere Vögel erwartet, bzw. bei nur wenigen Vögeln beurteilen kann, ob Audubon sie realistisch wiedergegeben hat. Dennoch ein ganz großes Schätzchen für mein Bücherregal! Und nicht nur die Vögel sind sehenswert: Da sie meist in die Flora eingebettet sind, fällt auf manchen Seiten als erstes die Pflanze ins Auge, z.B. wenn Kuckucke in einer wunderschönen Magnolie sitzen.



Man stolpert nicht nur über Tiere, die man noch nie gesehen hat und die oft wunderbar farbenprächtig sind, sondern auch über kuriose Namen wie „Chuck will’s widow“, die man dann gleich recherchieren möchte und die deutsche Bezeichnung finden (in diesem Fall: Carolinanachtschwalbe) (man beachte auch die Schlange)



Und den Loggerhead shrike habe ich gleich als Angehörigen der Familie der Würger erkannt, denn in Deutschlang gibt es aus dieser Familie den Neuntöter, der Käfer an Dornen aufspießt um Vorräte anzulegen. Bei Audubon habe ich gelernt, dass andere Würger das mit Mäusen tun.



Entgegen des ornithologischen Anspruchs sind die Vögel nicht nach Unterarten sortiert: Singvögel, Adler, Enten, Kolibris, Eulen… alles wechselt sich schön ab und ermüdet so nicht beim Anschauen.
In dem erfrischend kurzen Vorwort wird eigentlich nur darauf eingegangen, dass an Audubons Darstellungsweise vor allem die Dramatik völlig neu war: Vögel, die nicht steif dasitzen, sondern eingebettet in die Natur, mit anderen Vögeln (oder Tieren), in lebendigen Posen.

Wie so oft, führt mich die Lektüre aber weiter: Ich habe mich immer gefragt, wie man diesen Namen Audubon ausspricht. Das sieht ja sehr französisch aus, aber er war ein amerikanischer Ornithologe. Und was wäre das für eine merkwürdige Bedeutung: „am vom Guten“. Okay, so manch Adelstitel (von und zu) klingt auch eigenartig. Tatsächlich war Audubon Sohn eines Franzosen (und einer Kreolin), lebte auch in seiner Kindheit/Jugend in Frankreich – also ist es wohl kaum falsch diesen Namen französisch auszusprechen.
Nun, wenn man dann schon einmal auf wikipedia unterwegs ist, fällt auf, dass das doch ein recht spannendes Leben war mit Stationen wie Haiti, Frankreich, USA…, Diskussionen heute darüber, ob Audubon Rassist war und man ihn heute überhaupt noch nennen soll. Beim Lesen denkt man gleich: Über dieses Leben, diese Arbeit muss es doch Romane geben!? Ja, ein paar gibt es auch, die sind gleich auf meine To-Read-Liste gewandet. Und so führt ein Buch wieder zu x weiteren, seufz.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most all of the North American birds are here...some people believe that true American art began with Audubon?! What a treat it must have been to see the now extinct Carolina parakeet and the most likely extinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker, which recently involved a massive manhunt here in Arkansas and generated mucho spin. I'm honestly glad they didn't find any. If they did, they're not telling anyone!

The highly endangered Whooping Cranes and Trumpeter Swans are here in dizzying glory and I'm SO proud to have added both of these wonderful species to my sighting list during the last two winters here in Arkansas...the Trumpeters here in the Ozarks and the Whoopers at my parents down on the Grand Prairie...hell yeah!

This Crown publishers edition is full cloth with a pelican stamped into the material.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in conjunction with Gary Schmidt's wonderful younger YA novel, Okay for Now, in which the main character learns to draw (and see) through copying Audobon's wonderful depiction of various birds. This collection features several of the birds Schmidt makes use of, one per chapter, each linked to something going on in the chapter. Schmidt's idea seems to be that Audobon wasn't just making pictures of birds, he was imbuing them with certain characteristics, certain ideas and dispositions and psychological stances, and he was telling us stories through them, stories that we require our perception, our insights, to engage with. The birds also have to do with us; we read them through our lives, our experiences, our stories, as the kid in Okay for Now is helped to do through close reading. And this book is in various ways about reading: books, images, our lives. So this book, with it's accompanying analysis of Audobon's work, gives us more background for understanding the birds, and art, and Audobon, and the world. If I had been a kid, I would never have picked up this book, but the pictures are gorgeous, of course, and in this large format they help you see what Schmidt saw when he took some of his kids to a library and found this (or an even bigger, hardcover) picture of this book, was thrilled to see them, and got the idea for his novel. If you google Audobon's Birds for America you get Okay for Now fairly early on, so it looks like others are also looking at this book as I did, and we have Schmidt to thank for bringing us to this masterwork.

[Jason Waltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic beauty for what it is - dated and somewhat inaccurate, yet still an important and delightful book. Worthy of keeping and of using alongside other resources.

[Wendy Holliday · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you liked/loved Okay for Now, you need to get your hands on a copy of this and look through it at least once. Check your local library.

If you haven't read Okay for Now, you still should at least look through this magnificent book once in your life.

It weighs about 40 pounds and the paintings...wow. They really are awe-inspiring.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 5 out of 5]

About ten years ago the Natural History Museum in London unbound one of their two sets of 'The Birds of America' and used the plates to publish a new version. This book is a re-issue of that effort by a different publisher.

Since Audubon's book was three feet tall (double elephant folio, in the trade's jargon), the birds in this book are smaller, but still impressive. The larger birds are about one third the size of the originals, smaller birds about two thirds. Audubon published a huge book because he wanted to represent the birds life size. Even at reduced scale, the engravings and color are fabulous. The book is 13 inches tall and quite hefty.

He was known as a bird man, but most engravings also have botanical drawings that are quite delightful, to accompany the birds. One thing I miss is information about the geographic range of the birds, but that exceeded the scope of the book (although some plates have scenes in the background that are identified, such as South Carolina or Florida).

What is bittersweet is to see images of birds that are extinct, such as the passenger pigeon (a surprisingly colorful bird in Audubon's rendering) and the ivory-billed woodpecker, also known as the Good Lord Bird (probably now extinct).

There are 435 plates faithfully reproduced, and a joy to leaf through. What a labor of love this was.

[Vera · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Birds of America is John James Audubons masterpiece. 435 coloured plates show birds that he “drew from nature” while travelling through Northern America. He was a pioneer in portraying the birds in movement, while ornithologist artists before him usually drew birds sitting on a branch, with a prepared bird serving as model. In his portraits, the birds are flying, hunting, fighting, eating very much alive. The vivid colours and (in many pictures) the integration in a background only adds to the fascination Audobons drawings provoke. Those backgrounds are made by Maria Martin, the brilliant engraving, printing and colouring was done by Robert Havell, so let’s not forget to honour them too.

This 2021 edition of the book that was originally published as a series of sections between 1827 and 1838 is not as big as the original was (which measured 99x66cm) but it makes an impressive coffee table book, and the printing, paper and binding are of very high quality. A treasure for sure.

[Janae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went a little out of order and bought a coffee table book before I had a coffee table, but this was nearly half off on Amazon.

Sibley’s intro is worth the read. It helped me appreciate the prints more. It gives a little history and puts into perspective the art style.

Aside from the intro, each page is one print (nothing to read besides the labels). This is a great and affordable book if you’re a bird/art nerd and want to have all of Audubon’s bird prints. I especially loved the prints of species we don’t have anymore such as the Carolina parakeet and the ivory-billed woodpecker. So cool.

The species labels retain the original names and spelling. There are a few that had me guessing what they are, but there’s an index in the back that has the modern name. My biggest critique is the plate numbers have not been modernized, so good luck figuring out what plates like CDXXVIII or CCXLVIII are.

[Wendelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

a coffee-table masterpiece, a collector's delight

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the largest and heaviest book that we have in our library. It weighs 16 pounds, but feels like 50.
The quality and profusion of the hand-colored engravings of the American birds is beyond belief.

The beauty of the drawings is equaled by the detailed description of each species.

This is is a great reference book, since it is broken into chapters including:
Divers of Lakes and Bays
Waterfowl
Scavengers and birds of prey
Upland game birds and marsh-dwellers
Shorebirds
Seabirds
Showy Birds
Gleaners of forest and meadow
Songsters and mimics
Woodland sprites
Flockers and song birds

[Mayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This large collection of illustrations may seem somewhat subdued in hue when compared to many of today’s illustrations but they are a magnificent representation of North American birds as drawn by Audubon. Be sure to read the introduction by Sheila Buff – it contains much interesting information.

[Rossdavidh · Rating 3 out of 5]

John James Audobon (1785-1851) is now best known for the birdwatching and conservation society which bears his name. He was at one time, however, best known for this book (or rather, the one which this is an abridged and smaller version). Audobon painted the birds of North America in detail, in their natural habitat and in lifelike poses, and was also apparently enough of a salesman to sell many copies of his work. Apparently the original was made with each bird reproduced at life size, so that the largest waterbirds were on large foldouts.

This reproduction, from 1950, shrinks them all down to a more normal 8.5" by 5.5" book, and declines to reproduce those which later generations have found questionable in accuracy. Audobon was accurate and meticulous for his day, but much was done in the century between his death and the publication of this book, to put the knowledge of what bird was what in North America on a firmer footing.

I notice that, in 1950, even as conservation-minded a volume as this one was willing to mention the (not inconsiderable in number) species whose status had improved in recent decades. More recently, any admission that anything might have gotten better in any respect is usually elided, or at the very least followed up quickly by statements to the effect that any gains are tenuous at best and much else is being lost. Which is no doubt true, but a lot of the reason for the erosion of popular support for conservationism in recent decades is that it is associated with relentless gloom, which is dispiriting and therefore enervating. If you don't want to admit to your successes, you will have more difficulty rallying people to attempt to secure more of them.

But the other thing sapping support for conservation, of course, is that most people no longer spend much time outdoors. In 1950, though, it was still the case that many people used Audobon's guide (and the many imitators that came afterwards) to help identify the birds they were seeing when they went on hikes, canoe trips, fishing expeditions, and so on. When they saw a picture of, say, a Great White Heron ("hybridizes with the Great Blue"), they could see that it was not precisely the same as the Snowy Egret, with which they may also have been familiar from real life.

Whether or not we will ever persuade people to venture forth from their climate-controlled, electrified, music-filled, and otherwise comfortable indoors where excitement and entertainment arrives without need of effort on their part, it is to our benefit that we have still records of what North America looked like in Audobon's time. I hope that a latter-day Audobon may someday find a way to persuade us to go out in numbers to see these birds in person.

[Jiwon Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deserves a five star simply because I don't think there is any other book like it. The first time I saw this was at the Boston Athaenaeum, where they had the original double-elephant folio of The Birds of America on display. The colors captivate you at first glance.

I found the baby elephant folio at the Concord library and almost immediately started reading it standing up for 2 hours. I came back one week later to finish it and I'm glad that I did. I would love to read the double-elephant book one day (it's apparently one of the most expensive books today).

The irony of this book is that Audubon probably hunted more birds than any person in America. He killed most of the birds he painted (some were borrowed). Another irony is that the book factchecks Audubon's claims; not all of the bird species were correctly labeled as the younglings could look different from the adult birds ("bird of Washington") and sometimes Audubon drew mysterious birds that were never found in America. Some were potentially extinct or close to extinction, so we'll never find out. But the descriptions in the book intensifies the mystery and makes you fall more in love with the illustrations that follow.

Key takeaways from this book? 1. To make a story work, you don't have to be a hero: Be a villain with a clear purpose - who hunts down a bird because "he's never seen anything like it before" and document it. That's better than not caring at all. Stories are about communication. Plus, we perhaps have the masterpieces because Audubon had a hunter's eyes that appreciated birds in action and therefore illustrated using wires to shape their poses. As a hunter himself, he probably admired and loved the birds' art of hunting and wanted to capture the essence of what he saw in them. 2. Similarly, don't dedicate your time to perfecting when 2% error is infinitely better than 2% completion of work. No one thinks Audubon is insane for drawing fake birds when he did so well with 98% of the rest and identified 25 new species.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got the enhanced digital version of this book on the Libby App. Partly to read the introductory text and see the thoughts of the authors and partly to see if a digital version added anything. It doesn’t!

The book was digitally unwieldy taking ages to load properly and even then it could be unresponsive. Any accidental screen touch could take you off to somewhere entirely different and then take ages to get back to where you wanted to be in the first place.

The pictures couldn’t be enlarged for a closer view - which might be a feature of the Libby app so another might work better. This is a major weakness of the app and / or the book.

I never got the sound recordings to work (presumable they are recordings of the songs / vocalisations of each bird - where available I.e. not extinct before such recordings became possible) instead I just kept going backward between pages. Another possible benefit not accessible.

The introductory text was interesting, particularly the influence Audubon had on future bird though it is extremely biased to USA artistas. While the authors acknowledge this I think it inexcusable given the international influence of Audubon on bird art throughout the world.

All in all a good idea to digitise the works but poorly executed. I’ll stick to my paper copy (unfortunately it is only a copy) of Audubon’s works. Digitisation might work for the written word but I’ve yet to see a successful pictorial transformation.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE BIRDS

BIRDS ARE AWESOME

This book does a great job of introducing a variety of birds, even if it's a bit old.

I WANT TO BE AN ORNITHOLOGIST NOW!!!




Five stars, duh.

*I read the 1950 Audobon's Birds of America version. A lovely cover and binding, too!

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think my favorite illustrations all included some sort of story element, even though the birds themselves are not notably rare or fancy —the Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus), in which the birds are perched on the carcass of a deer; the Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), in which the birds are being terrorized by a hawk; the Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), in which the birds are attempting to defend their nest from a rattlesnake.

Full review at Lone Star on a Lark

[Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful walk through Audubon, his art, & birds. Who knew that he had no qualms killing birds? And that he was a marketing showman? Nonetheless, he raised awareness of birds, which was the first step necessary for Americans to consider subsequent conservation.

A nice coffee table book, which is exactly where I found it when we stayed at a VRBO in the rural Tennessee woods.

[Corinna (Cocchan) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent collection of wildlife illustrations.
Noticeable for its naturalistic and artistic purposes, this book makes a lovely piece of work to have and show in your own library.

As a passionate person about drawing, this is a beautiful tool for studying coloring and composition, next to an investigation about birds and ornithology (as the daughter of a bird lover and breeder).

I got to know about this book from the movie "American Animals", by Bart Layton. Which I definitely suggest to watch.

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghastly history and beautiful pictures. It is good for us to hear and see this.

[T P Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful painting which are relatively well introduced. I'd love to tackle this with accompanying text from a bird expert. The images in the abstract are lovely but a bit abstract.

[Debra Hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, gorgeous paintings of 500 birds of North America by Audubon.

[Hechen Bao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nature is just so touching. Remarkable work by Audubon!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic book full of the most exquisitely drawn birds I've ever seen. I love birds and books but had never heard of this book until I stumbled upon an original plate kept in the Natural History Museum, London.

The book, published by the Natural History Museum in London, contains 435 large hand coloured prints of engravings by John James Audubon; an American artist and naturalist who catalogued and engraved these birds between 1825 and 1838 in an ambitious project that was the first of its kind. During his 13 year quest Audubon became obsessed to the detriment of his family life and I was very interested to read that his art was more popular in England than the United States because of the 'American Woodsman' persona that Audubon cultivated with his exotic bird drawings from the frontier.

If you like birds, natural history and/or art this book is an amazing addition to any book collection and one I will cherish for many years.

[e smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok. So, I saw the original Audubon Book at The Field Museum in Chicago. It is beautiful. I don't care if you hate birds, this thing is amazing to look at. The book is about as big as my torso and was made by human hand, and not a digital press. It is beautiful. I tried to look up a reference for the book, when it was printed etc...and came upon this:

http://www.audubongalleries.com/conte...

It's a facsimile of the original Audubon book. You can buy it online for $95,000.00....through PayPal. Does this make ANY sense to you? Who buys shit off the internet for $95,000.00...and through Pay Pal. Am I missing something about internet safety?

[Lisa James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am lucky enough to own a 3rd printing of this book, in hardback, dated 1961 on the front page. I found it in the old barn of someone my husband knew that ws moving, & the barn was full of things that had been left there by previous owners/renters of the property! It shows wear on the outside, but the interior is still beautiful, the printings of the plates crisp, & I treasure it :)

[Foxtower · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not even close to the real deal, this book is full of wonderful color reproductions of many of his paintings as well as his observations about the birds.

The book is beautiful, printed on very heavy paper in Italy.. with no author listed for the brief introduction. Where do I find these things?

[Anne Holly]

No star rating, as I lack expertise in the relevant fields. However, I can say I enjoyed reading it, and have enjoyed it many times. Lovely illustrations, of course (though sad, knowing most of the birds were stuffed before being painted). I find this book soothing, interesting, and rather educational. Recommended for a home library, at least as an enjoyable "thumbing" book.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too clunky and large to be a practical field guide, and the prints are too small to fully appreciate the artwork. I recommend a coffee table sized book of Audubon's work and a newer field guide instead.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I work for the Academy of Natural sciences in Philadelphia, where we turn the page daily on our copy of the Elephant Edition, so this particular version pales, but still a great book for the collection.

[RP · Rating 5 out of 5]

My one issue with this edition, is that it seems to warp. There may be an issue with the binding and the paper. I exchanged for another one and the same thing happened. Still, it's very beautiful. Wonderful reproductions, vivid color.