A World Treasure at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
A new exhibition opens in the Library of the Royal College on Friday 1st May 2026
John James Audubon (1785-1851) produced the world famous ‘The Birds of America’ between 1827-1838. The 435 plates depict 489 life-sized bird species in hand-coloured etchings, aquatints and engravings. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow has owned Volumes One and Two of the first edition of Audubon’s masterpiece since 1838, containing the first 200 plates.
This new exhibition explores the story of our copies, why the College owns them, the conservation and photography work we have undertaken and the wider engagement work we are delivering. It also considers Audubon’s contested legacy. He has been widely celebrated for his stunning achievements in art and ornithology, but he has also been accused of scientific fraud, plagiarism and inaccuracies. He owned enslaved people and supported discredited theories of “scientific racism”.
His passion for nature led to his discovery of new species, which contributed to the knowledge and understanding of bird anatomy, and his books now serve to highlight the ongoing loss of species due to climate change, habitat decline and over hunting.
We are grateful to Museums Galleries Scotland for funding this project.
A timeline of Audubon’s life 26 April 1785 – 27 January 1851
Audubon was a self-taught artist. He dedicated his life to the study of the birds and wildlife of the early settled states of America, and his wife Lucy Bakewell Audubon and family supported him and continued his legacy after his death.
26 April 1785: Born Jean-Jacques Rabin on the island of Saint-Domingue, now Haiti, to French Captain Jean Audubon and Jeanne Rabine, a serving woman.
1788: After his mother died, he was brought to Nantes, France where he was brought up by his father and his wife, Anne Moynet Audubon. In France he was known as Jean-Jacques. His interest in the natural world began to flourish.
1790s: Survived the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror in Nantes.
1803: Sent to Mill Grove, his father’s estate in Pennsylvania, USA to avoid conscription into Napoleon’s army. Anglicised his name to John James. He spoke English with a French accent throughout his life.
1804: Met and fell in love with Lucy Bakewell, his neighbour in Mill Grove. Created wire constructions that helped him pose dead birds in lifelike positions to paint them.
1808: Married Lucy and moved with her to Louisville where he set up a general store.
1809: Son Victor born.
1810: Met Paisley-born ornithologist Alexander Wilson, and learned about his subscription publication, American Ornithology. Moved to Henderson, Kentucky with family. They owned several slaves while in Henderson, until they needed money at which point they were sold.
1812: Son John Woodhouse born. Audubon gave up his French citizenship and became an American citizen.
1815: Daughter Lucy born.
1819: He was jailed for debt and released when he filed for bankruptcy. The family lost all their possessions. Daughter Rose born.
1820: He stated his intention to complete, in his lifetime, “a collection of the Birds of our Country, from Nature, all of Natural Size”.
1824: Lucy became the main breadwinner, working as a teacher. He attempted to obtain support from the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia for a publication of his engravings of American birds. Amid accusations of scientific misconduct, he was opposed by a number of others including George Ord, editor of American Ornithology by Alexander Wilson.
1826: Travelled to Great Britain to seek subscribers for his great work and quickly gained success. He was celebrated as the “American Woodsman”. In Edinburgh he met William Home Lizars, who agreed to become Audubon’s engraver. Charles Darwin, then a young medical student, attended a lecture he gave at the Wernerian Natural History Association in Edinburgh.
1827: In London, Robert Havell Jr took over the work of printing and colouring the Double Elephant folio aquatints.
1829: Returned to America to paint more American birds and convince Lucy to join him in England.
1830: Elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Travelled to Florida to capture and depict southern birds.
1831: Published first volume of Ornithological Biography, written with Scottish ornithologist William MacGillivray.
1833: Travelled to Labrador and Newfoundland to paint northern bird species.
1838: Completed the fourth and final volume of the Folio edition of The Birds of America. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow purchased the first two volumes of the Double Elephant Folio first edition of The Birds of America
1839: Settled in New York with Lucy. Began planning for The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America.
1840: Began work on the octavo edition of The Birds of America.
1843: Travelled west to search for new specimens for Quadrupeds.
1845: First Imperial Folio volume of The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America was published.
1848: Suffered a stroke and began to develop dementia. His eyesight failed and son John Woodhouse took over work on the Quadrupeds project.
1851: John James Audubon died at his family home in Manhattan on 27 January.
Why did a medical college buy these bird books?
The College Library was founded in 1698, when Faculty members donated books for our first home at the Trongate in Glasgow. We have been collecting books ever since, and our collection of rare books stretches back to the 15th century. We hold many fine examples of important historical texts, with particularly strong representation in medicine, surgery, botany and materia medica from the 18th and 19th centuries. We also hold a collection of several thousand medical pamphlets from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. Most of the book collection can be found on our online catalogue and we regularly add new records to make our collections more discoverable.
Books on birds and the natural world were not unusual themes for a medical and scientific library in Enlightenment Scotland. Doctors collected books which explored science and knowledge from across a wide spectrum of disciplines. Our College Library includes a first edition of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and Paisley-born Alexander Wilson’s American Ornithology. We have over 20 books alone relating to birds and many relating to plants and nature more widely.
Audubon was a fashionable and exotic figure in Britain in the 1820s. He cultivated a romantic image as the “American Woodsman” which fascinated British society and this, along with the outstanding quality of his artistry, helped him secure subscribers for his ambitious work.
Minutes of the College show that we bought the two volumes in 1838 for the sizable sum of £48. Due to the cost, permission to purchase them was sought from the College Council on 1 January 1838. The College did not buy individual plates on subscription; they were already bound into books when we acquired them.
What makes The Birds of America so special?
Unlike other ornithologists of the time, Audubon decided to depict his birds as if they were alive: in-flight, pecking at insects, feeding their young. He was intimately involved in their capture. He spent years traversing the eastern seaboard of the newly formed United States of America, observing and tracking bird species, trapping and killing them. While other ornithologists worked mainly from stuffed specimens, he developed a technique using wire and board to mount them in life like positions. This innovative approach helped him to create his spectacular paintings.
The sheer size of the work is one of the most remarkable aspects of it. Audubon was ambitious; The Birds of America was printed on Whatman double-elephant folio paper measuring 99cm x 66cm. As this was the same size as Audubon’s original drawings, it ensured that the largest birds were depicted life-sized, while the subtle use of foliage ensured that smaller birds did not look out of place in the largest plates.
Conservation of the books
Over the years, Members of the College were able to handle the books and turn their pages. This resulted in torn paper and thumb prints and stains around the edges. Luckily the actual pictures are still, on the whole, in pristine condition with the rich colours continuing to be sharp and vibrant. Despite the handling over the years, enough respect has been shown to these treasures that they remain in excellent condition.
Today, we keep the books in safe storage conditions and only handle them a few times each year, minimising light damage and additional wear and tear.
In 2025, Glasgow-based paper conservator Rebecca Goldie worked in situ in our Library, cleaning and repairing tears, flattening creases and even removing old sticky tape from the pages. This ensures these books are now in the best condition to survive for another 200 years.
Audubon and Slavery
JJ Audubon was born into a world of privilege. His father owned a sugar plantation on Saint-Domingue, now Haiti, worked by large numbers of enslaved peoples. While living in Kentucky, he and his wife Lucy bought and sold up to nine enslaved people. They worked on his property but also supported his bird hunting expeditions.
He opposed the abolition of the slave trade and supported the work of Samuel George Morton, (1799-1851) an anatomy professor at Pennsylvania Medical College in Philadelphia, USA, who promoted the discredited theory of the racial superiority of white people. He also named birds after friends and scientists who espoused racist views such as Bachmann’s Warbler and Cuvier’s Wren.
Audubon’s great achievements in ornithology and art elevated him to fame and prestige. Today this reputation is being re-evaluated and several nature conservation organisations in America have voted to distance themselves from him, changing their names and rejecting his racist beliefs. Our College acknowledges the harm caused by racism and Audubon’s part in this history. We aim to be open and transparent about the unpalatable aspects of Audubon’s life whilst celebrating his great achievements.
Natural History collections in the College Library
The College archive holds a significant collection of natural history books covering a broad range of topics. There are over 20 books on the topic of ornithology.
These include a first edition of ‘On the Origin of Species’, (1859) by Charles Darwin, ‘Zoonomia’ (18xx) by his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, and ‘American Ornithology’ (1831) by Alexander Wilson, the Paisley born ornithologist who inspired Audubon to embark on his great work.
You can search our Library catalogue online: https://rcpsg.ac.uk/college/library/books. To view the collection, please make an appointment by contacting: library@rcpsg.ac.uk
Charles Darwin by George Richmond
Special exhibition about Darwin and Audubon
The College is currently running a companion exhibition about the remarkable links between Darwin and Audubon. A Natural Connection: Darwin and Audubon is currently on display in the College Library.
Visiting the exhibition
The College is open daily Monday to Friday. The Library is generally available to visit on Mondays 2-5pm, except Bank Holidays. It is best to contact us to double check access to the Library or to consult our collections for research, please make an appointment by emailing library@rcpsg.ac.uk.
Our building is accessible from street level via stairs or a lift. Inside, there are accessible toilets and stairs or lifts to access upper floors.
There are baby change facilities on the second floor.
Parking available is on-street and metred.