Flock to ‘Feathered Impressions’ for Three Centuries Worth of Ornithological Works

Written by Sara Williams, Reference Librarian, Downtown Main Library 

Join Library staff in the Joseph S. Stern Cincinnati Room at the Downtown Main Library at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 28 to tour Feathered Impressions. This exhibit includes The Birds of America (1827-1838), John James Audubon’s monumental work of naturalist art, as well as a collection of ornithological illustrations across three centuries.   

Ornithological Illustration Across Three Centuries 

Works on display in Feathered Impressions include 17th century naturalist Francis Willughby’s Ornithology (1678), known to be one of the first truly scientific ornithological texts.  View Histoire naturelle des oiseaux (1770-1786), by Georges-Louis Leclerc, the Comte de Buffon, an 18th century book whose author is the subject of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life (2025) by Jason Roberts.  Also on exhibit is Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio (1886), a project started by local 19th century artist, Genevieve Estelle Jones, and finished by her family following her untimely death from typhoid fever. 

Discover More Through the Online Exhibit 

To learn more about the continuum of ornithological illustration and how Audubon’s The Birds of America came to be, who contributed to its creation, and how CHPL’s copy arrived in Cincinnati, check out the corresponding digital exhibit, Feathered Impressions.

Compare Audubon’s original watercolors to the iconic copper plate etchings and explore a map that provides an overview of Audubon’s journeys and the birds he  brought to the page.        

View a few works from Audubon's The Birds of America below.