by Hugh Hollinghurst for the Crosby and District Historical Society
Designed and typeset by Peter Owen
Published 2007
John James Auduabon arrived in Liverpool from the United States in 1826. He had failed to gain support there for his amazing project for an ornithology of the birds of North America. The gestation period had been sixteen years, but now was the time for the birth of his double elephant folio, life size drawings. He came with letters of introduction to put him in touch with William Roscoe and the Rathbone family who would give him the confidence and connections to realise his dream. This book relates how he achieved this and gives a fascinating account of the social life of the time based on the journals that he wrote for his wife. It also recreates the look of 1826 Liverpool with a profusion of illustrations, many of them in colour, of the buildings that have survived. Enclosed is a leaflet with a trail taking you through the city to view these buildings, his original paintings in the University Art Gallery and, above all, a precious copy of the Birds of America, proudly displayed at the Picton Library.
Available from the Victoria Gallery and Museum, Ashton Street, Liverpool L69 3DR
A4 48pp £7.50.
Hugh Hollinghurst 