2. John James Audubon’s “The Birds of America” is in the New-York Historical Society
Image via Wikimedia Commons in public domain
Among the impressive collection in the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library, it has all 435 surviving preparatory watercolors for John James Audubon‘s impressive work of Birds of America, a book that shows all the species of birds in North America. The works at the Historical Society are the works that Audubon created as prep work for the final copies that would go into his first editions. Learn more about the books’ contents at John James Audubon’s Birds of America organization where they have detailed information and a digitized collection of the books.