Born in Haiti, John James Audubon spent his youth in France where he studied for a time under Jacques, Louis David. He came to America in 1803, to engage in a series of ill-fated ventures as a farmer merchant and portrait painter. None of these occupations engaged Audubon as much as his avocation: the search for birds and the studies and drawings that he made to record his discoveries and observations.

Audubon's tireless efforts and remarkable talent culminated in the publication in London of his 435-plate Birds of America (1827-1838). Undoubtedly the greatest work on birds ever produced, this first American edition was expanded to 500 plates, and included the text of Audubon's Ornithological Biography. It was beautifully printed and colored by John Bowen of Philadelphia, one of the finest American lithographers of his day.

Audubon was planning this edition even before the first folio edition had been completed. The octavo edition was intended to give the general public access to Audubon's work, as only institutions and wealthy individuals could afford the folio edition. The octavo edition was an immediate success, and was reprinted eight times by 1871.