Treasures of the Bodleian

Only around 170 sets of this great ornithological work were made, of which some 119 have survived. Audubon (1785-1851) insisted that the 435 engravings be life-sized, and so The Birds of America was printed on the largest available paper size (known as ‘double elephant’). Audubon’s illustrations had an almost magical effect on his contemporaries, as one described it: ‘The spectator imagined himself in the forest … birds in motion or at rest, in their glee and their gambols, their loves and their wars, singing or caressing or brooding or preying or tearing one another into pieces’. A unique publishing venture, The Birds of America has retained its extraordinary impact, and when, on the rare occasions, copies come on the market today, they sell for seven-figure sums.