The Bird : The Great Age of Avian Illustration

The late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century was a period of scientific, artistic and geographic discovery, when people began to fully appreciate the immense variety of form and colour within the natural world. The Bird celebrates this beauty through the lavish illustrations produced at that time.

Each chapter focuses on a category of birds, from shorebirds to birds of prey. Sections on key ornithological artists such as John James Audubon, Elizabeth Gould and Edward Lear demonstrate how technology, travel and ambition shaped these amazing images, and how ornithological illustration transformed our understanding of the wonderful world of birds.

Hardback, 352 pages.