Audubon Collection

John James Audubon (1785-1851)

John James Audubon was the creator of one of the world's most magnificent scientific and artistic publications. In the 1820s, while bankrupt and living in what would become Ohio, he became determined to paint all the birds in North America, in natural, life-sized poses, in their normal habitat. He arranged that the hand-coloured engravings of these paintings would be bound in enormous volumes contrary to the more modest style of the published ornithological books of his day. This mammoth project was financed solely by Audubon, his family and his individual subscriptions sales. Working before the camera was invented, driven by his passion and guided by his years of observing birds in the wild and his skills as a taxidermist, Audubon spent some twenty years of his life realizing his dream of publishing The Birds of America. An accomplishment which has never been duplicated.

The History of Toronto Reference Library's Birds of America

A copy of Audubon's Birds of America was purchased in 1903 for the Toronto Public Library by the Chief Librarian, Dr. James Bain, from the estate of the Honourable George William Allan, Toronto's eleventh mayor. Allan was the only individual in Canada to have purchased the Birds of America, a four volume double-elephant folio set of 435 hand-coloured, engraved prints. The term double-elephant refers to the largest sheet size of handmade paper then available. The $1900 cost, substantial in its day, was paid by the library board over a five year period. Unverified legend has it that Allan bought the set directly from Audubon.

The Toronto Public Library's copy, housed at the Toronto Reference Library, was produced between 1826 and 1838. Over the years, the volumes became increasingly fragile and in the early 1980's were withdrawn from public use. In order to ensure their continued availability, an appeal was launched to finance conservation of the prints. The public responded generously to a fundraising compaign in support of this project and conservation work was completed in 1990. The Library has since increased public access to these spectacular prints through a series of exhibitions with the intention of exhibiting all 435 Audubon prints over a period of years.

CANADA TRUST Donation

One of the world's most famous books, The Birds of America, has been saved by CANADA TRUST for the Canadian public. In 1996, financial constraints forced the Toronto Reference Library to consider selling its most valuable possession, the magnificent 435 life-sized hand-coloured engravings created in the 1830's by John James Audubon, in collaboration with Robert Havell, Jr. CANADA TRUST, well known for its interest in environmental and conservation issues, made a $1.2 million donation to the Library to ensure that the collection would remain in its possession and in the public domain. Since Canada Trust's amalgamation with TD Bank in 2001, the collection is now known as the TD Audubon Collection.