The Library’s four double-elephant portfolio volumes of Birds of America is temporarily on loan to the Cincinnati Museum Center through early 2020 as part of their “In the Audubon Tradition” exhibit.

The Library owns one of the few intact copies of John James Audubon’s Birds of America. Birds of America consists of 435 plates, bound in four volumes. Each plate was hand colored in London under the direction of Audubon and engraver Robert Havell, Jr. At 21.5 x 39.5 inches and 40 pounds, it is one of the largest and heaviest books in our collection. Our copy was purchased in 1870 from Joseph Longworth (son of Cincinnati millionaire Nicholas Longworth). It was originally owned by Dr. Thomas Edmonson of Baltimore, Maryland.

New cases to house the set were unveiled on Nov. 16, 2015 in the Joseph S. Stern, Jr. Cincinnati Room at the Main Library. The four-volume folio set is part of a permanent exhibit that also features a new computer touch screen which allows visitors to digitally flip through the books and zoom in on the artwork.

Digital Library

You can access all the wonders of the Audubon Birds of America Collection at home by visiting the Digital Library.