During the 1820s at the age of 35, ornithologist John James Audubon declared his intention to paint every single bird species in North America. Today, original editions of his Birds of America collection are sold for millions of dollars and two of them are on display at the Liverpool Central Library.
BBC and The Guide Liverpool report that the rare editions are now available for public access for a limited time.
The books feature life size scale pages of the bird illustrations that were originally painted in watercolor. The library holds two of the four volumes that make up the complete collection. Visitors will be able to see the pages up close and turned before their eyes.
Image Via Amazon
Audubon’s Birds of America is among the most important books in natural history, known for its extensive cataloguing and rendering of over four hundred different bird species, six of which are now extinct.
Image Via National Audubon Society
If you can’t make it over to Liverpool or come up with a few million at the next auction, you can always find a more economical copy here on Amazon.
Featured Image Via The Guide Liverpool