The No1 Ethical retailer for Books, CD’s, DVD’s & Games
30 Day Refund Guarantee

Audubon's Elephant: The story of John James Audubon's epic struggle to publish The Birds of America

Audubon's Elephant: The story of John James Audubon's epic struggle to publish The Birds of America

by Duff Hart - Davis (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2004

    $3.36
Synopsis

Illegitimate, half-French, half-American, poorly educated, chronically short of money and obsessed with birds, Audubon came to England in 1826 to find a publisher for his extraordinary paintings. He insisted that they must be reproduced on double-elephant folio paper - sheets almost 40 inches by 30 - so that even the largest species could be represented life size, and no-one in America had been prepared to tackle such a gigantic task. Drawing on Audubon's journals, letters to his wife and the archives of the families with whom he stayed and worked, Duff Hart-Davis recreates Audubon's twelve years in Britain in search of patrons and publishers. It is an extraordinary story of an obsessive genius and his observations of people, places and events in early nineteenth-century England and Scotland. 'An attractive account of a publishing story that will be enjoyed both by specialists and by those who don't know one end of a Roseate Spoonbill from another' Daily Telegraph

$3.36

Save:$8.30 (71%)

Quantity

2 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 216
 Edition: New edition
 Publisher: Phoenix
Published: 01 Jul 2004
ISBN 10: 0753817888
ISBN 13: 9780753817889
Book Overview: The last complete copy of The Birds of America sold for a staggering USD8.8 million in March 2000 An extraordinary story of an obsessive genius BBC Natural History unit investigating TV possibilities 'This vividly written and copiously illustrated book' The Times 'Duff Hart-Davis sets Audubon and his world vividly before us...This delightful book does Audubon and his creation proud' Country Life 'Duff Hart-Davis captures the personalities and habits of all those involved with a bird-spotter's eye for telling detail and in prose that is entirely free from nature-mimsy...an exceptionally vivid account of an extraordinary man and his equally extraordinary project' Sunday Telegraph

Media Reviews
'[an] excellent and finely illustrated biography.' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY (1.8.04)
Author Bio
Duff Hart-Davis is a writer and journalist. His books include Fauna Britannica and Audubon's Elephant. He was Literary Editor and Assistant Editor of the Sunday Telegraph and was been country columnist for The Independent 1986-2001. He lives and farms in Gloucestershire.