Despite all that has been written about John James Audubon and his work, one aspect had been overlooked, until now... In 1838, as John James Audubon's monumental creation, Birds of America, was nearing completion, he requested his engraver, Robert Havell, produce 13 extra, unique prints. Havell was instructed to combine images from two separate plates into a single print, commonly known as a "Composite Plate". Only two full sets, along with a handful of individual prints, of these rare prints exist today and are rarely if ever seen by the public. In this book the authors, for the first time, provide an analysis as to how and why these plates were made, while providing illustrations depicting all 13 of the Composite Plates.

Featuring the snowy egret, wild turkey, brown pelican, screech owl, and many others, this new collection gathers 130 select plates from Audubon's octavo edition. Includes an informative introduction to the artist and his work.

Birds of America, Audubon's ornithological masterpiece, towers above all other works of its kind, vast in its coverage of bird species, each portrait scrupulously accurate in every detail, the apex of the nature illustrator's art. This exciting new volume contains 224 of the best plates selected from the 500 plates in the original work, reproduced original size in full color directly from the rare octavo edition valued at $20,000.00. Included are the snowy egret, wild turkey, brown pelican, screech owl, Carolina parakeet, black-capped chickadee, glossy ibis, mallard, American flamingo and many others. Extraordinary care has been taken to achieve meticulously faithful reproductions, capturing all the nuances of color and detail that make the original plates true works of art. A remarkably handsome, beautifully produced volume, this affordable new edition will be welcomed by fine art and nature lovers, ornithologists and birders, and lovers of fine books. These plates are also an excellent source of full-color bird and nature illustration for art and craft use.

A magnificent new printing of this classic edition of John James Audubon’s masterwork In this latest printing of the Baby Elephant Folio edition of Audubon’s Birds of America, the thumbnail images accompanying the descriptive captions are printed in full color for the convenience of the reader. This printing also features an attractive new binding cloth, in a sumptuous teal color. The Baby Elephant Folio presents all 435 of Audubon’s brilliant hand-colored engravings in exquisite reproductions derived from the original plates of the National Audubon Society’s archival copy of the rare Double Elephant Folio. Although many attempts have been made to re-create the splendid illustrations in Audubon’s masterpiece, nothing has ever equaled the level of fidelity achieved in this luxurious edition. Organized and annotated by Roger Tory Peterson and Virginia Marie Peterson, and issued with the full endorsement and cooperation of the Audubon Society, this volume is as informative as it is beautiful. Its fascinating introduction places Audubon in the context of the history of American ornithological art and also reproduces a wide sampling of the work of his notable predecessors and disciples, including Roger Tory Peterson’s own rightfully famous paintings. A new systematic arrangement of the prints, following the modern classification of species, and descriptive captions about each bird allow us to appreciate Audubon's achievement in the light of modern ornithology.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from Audubon's Birds and Quadrupeds of America: List of Plates Now Offered for Sale Separately Of this celebrated Duck, far famed as food for epicures, Audubon presents in this magnificent plate three fine specimens, two males and a female. One of the males is gracefully sailing along on the water, with head erect and as'if fully conscious of the beautiful spectacle which he presents; while the other, standing upon the shore, with outstretched neck and open bill, is preparing to snatch at some object on the sur face of the water which has attracted his eye. The female is represented standing upon a rock on the edge of the water. In the background is a view of the city of Baltimore. All three of the birds are drawn life size and colored from nature, and in their easy and graceful positions form a truly magnificent spectacle. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

'Birds of America' is one of the best known natural history books ever produced and also one of the most valuable - a complete set sold at auction in December 2010 for 7.3 million, which is a world record.