John James Audubon (1785-1851). The birds of America: from drawings made in the United States and their territories. New York: J.J. Audubon and Philadelphia: J.B. Chevalier, 1840-1844. 7 volumes.

Audubon's fame rests upon the "elephant folio" colored engravings produced in England between 1827 and 1838, but his fortune was made by this smaller, less expensive edition that he published in the United States. This octavo edition contains hand-colored lithographic versions of the earlier prints, the work of Philadelphia lithographer J. T. Bowen. Along with the images are Audubon's written accounts of the birds and their behavior, originally published as the 5-volume Ornithological Biography during the 1830s as a companion to the folio plates. Audubon, the son of a French Haitian planter, began drawing American birds as an avocation soon after coming to North America and taking up residence at Mill Grove, near Philadelphia, in 1803. He continued studying and drawing birds while operating a series of unsuccessful businesses in Kentucky, but by 1820 he was devoting all of his energies to exploring the American wilderness in search of birds. His first-hand knowledge of the birds is evident in his drawings, which show the birds in action, rather than in the stiff, posed forms typical of earlier illustrators.

Elliott, the pre-eminent American ornithologist of the late 19th century, was a wealthy man who used his fortune to support the collection of exotic bird species and the publication of elaborate illustrated bird books, such as this one on hornbills. Elliott wrote text and underwrote the publication, while the artwork was done by John Gerrard Keulemans (1842-1912). Keulemans was born and trained in the Netherlands, but spent most of career in England where he was one of the most highly regarded and prolific natural history artists. His paintings for this book, as with most of his work, were based on preserved specimens rather than live birds. The book contains 60 hand-colored lithographic plates, and was originally issued in ten parts between 1877 and 1882

The most prolific publisher of illustrated bird books in the 19th century was John Gould, a gardener, taxidermist, and amateur ornithologist who was appointed Curator and Preserver at the newly formed Zoological Society of London in 1827. Gould's first book, A century of birds from the Himalaya Mountains, was inspired by a collection of bird skins donated to the Society. When this book proved to be a success, his career was launched. Over the following half-century he was responsible for publishing more than 40 large-format illustrated bird books, containing nearly 3000 lithograph prints.

Gould began A synopsis of the birds of Australia after receiving a collection of specimens from his wife's brothers, who had recently emigrated to New South Wales. After producing this introductory octavo volume on Australian birds, Gould and his wife traveled to the continent to observe, draw and collect more specimens. The result was his most famous work, the 7-volume, 600 plate Birds of Australia.

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John Gould (1804-1881). A monograph of the Trochilidae, or family of humming birds. London: Printed by Taylor and Francis, published by the author, 1851.

Most of Gould's large-format illustrated works were issued in parts, rather than as complete books. Each part contained a small number of plates, along with the accompanying descriptions. Once the work was completed, it would be up to the individual subscriber to have the entire work bound together. The Castle Collection contains only Part II of the hummingbird volume, with 15 plates. The image at left, of the Calothorax Mulsanti, is from this part. Gould issued 25 parts with 360 plates between 1849 and 1861, followed by a supplement in the 1880s.

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