John James Audubon and The Birds of America

by Vedder, Lee A.

• ISBN13: 9780873282178
• ISBN10: 0873282175
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-11-01
• Publisher: Huntington Library Pr

Summary

John James Audubon's sumptuous four-volume edition of "Birds of America, "published between 1827 and 1838, contains 435 hand-colored life-size prints of 1,065 individual American birds. A glorious union of science and art, it remains an unequaled achievement in ornithology illustration. In tracing Audubon's quest to produce this groundbreaking work, Vedder draws on the artist and naturalist's own writings and the latest scholarship on his life and on "Birds of America. "Plates from the Huntington Library's double-elephant folio are reproduced in color, including the wild turkey, Baltimore oriole, bald eagle, and (once presumed extinct) ivory-billed woodpecker. Vedder provides with each plate a commentary on the unique characteristics of the species depicted, based on Audubon's own observations in the field.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(3)
John James Audubon
Audubon and the Making of The Birds of America: A Brief History	4	(1)
Audubon's Childhood in France, 1789--1803	5	(2)
Audubon Goes to America, 1803--1805	7	(2)
Audubon Returns to France, 1805--1807	9	(2)
Audubon's Trials, Hardships, and Epiphany in America, 1806--1820	11	(8)
In Pursuit of His ``Great Idea'': Audubon in the Field, 1820--1821	19	(5)
In Pursuit of His ``Great Idea'': Audubon Searches for a Publisher, 1824--1826	24	(5)
The Path to Publication and Audubon's Marketing Strategy, 1827--1839	29	(6)
Epilogue: Audubon's ``Great Work'' Comes to a Close	35	(2)
Endnotes	37	(4)
Selected Plates and Commentaries	41	(50)
Acknowledgments	91	(1)
Reference Bibliography	92	(1)
Index	93