James Audubon - Blue Crane

The four-volume 'Birds of America', 435 plates of 700 species, took 14 years to complete, and consisted of 119 double-elephant folio (39 1/2 by 26 1/2in) sets of hand-coloured engraved plates. In December 2010, a set sold at Sotheby's for £7,321,250 million, the world-record price for a printed book. John James Audubon (1785-1851) was French (first named Jean Rabin), the illegitimate son of a naval officer and a chambermaid. At 18, he emigrated to America. He is buried in Trinity Church Cemetary, New York.