Published: 1827-1838, London

John James Audubon was an American naturalist and painter who, in the decade between 1927 and 1938, printed a series of folios depicting every bird species in America. The paintings are lifesize, requiring Elephant Folios (massive books) to fit the different birds. Printed in small sets per month, approximately 200 full editions of the originals exist, each printed with custom engraved plates and hand-painted by Audubon’s wife.

The Hay Library owns all four volumes of Audubon’s Birds of America, printed in six books, a remarkable collection given many collectors’ tendencies to sell individual sheets for the high return.