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    Many books have been written about John James Audubon, the great French-American ornithologist, but none of the other Audubon biographies concentrate on his time in Edinburgh. This period was to prove a turning point in his life. It was here that his grand BIRDS OF AMERICA paintings were first engraved and he realized his ambition of having them published. The first plates were engraved by the leading Edinburgh engraver, William Lizars. An extraordinary project with almost 500 plates, it was printed on the largest available paper and every bird was reproduced to life size.
    Audubon met many notable characters who were part of the Scottish Enlightenment, and this comprehensive and beautifully illustrated book, based largely on his own journals, gives the reader a vivid account of life in early 19th-century Edinburgh.
    But the focus is on his life-long occupation and pre-occupation - his work. Here is Audubon's perspective on his painstaking creative process and the great lengths taken to get his art published and continually to ensure the quality of the printings. Important in these writings is correspondence with his collaborator on the accompanying scientific text, Scottish naturalist, William MacGillivray (Audubon named a warbler after MacGillvray, who was keeper of the Royal College of Surgeons' museum).
The author's concept for the book came to him while on a bird walk in Portland, Oregon.



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