John James Audubon is arguably America's most widely recognized and collected artist. His Birds of America has been reproduced often, beginning with the double elephant folio printed by Havill in England, followed by a much smaller "Octavo" edition printed in Philadelphia and sold by subscription. After Audubon's death, his family arranged with the New York printer Julius Bien to produce another elephant folio edition, this time by the new chromolithographic process. It too would be sold by subscription, but the venture, begun in 1858, was brought to an abrupt end by the Civil War. Only 150 plates were produced, and the number remaining today is slight; they are among the rarest and most sought after Audubon prints. Bound in cloth with a full cloth slipcase, this beautifully produced book is the first complete reproduction of Bien chromolithographs and will become the centerpiece of any bird lover's library.

Joel Oppenheimer was a student of Charles Olson at the original Black Mountain College, a fixture in New York’s West Village, and a lover of the NY Mets. His work embraces the taunt line of W. C .Williams. Lessons returns the work of this essential American poet to print. “No one else speaks with his benevolence and humor and still touches me at the depths of my own fear and love. I think his poems are a Godsend to us all.â€� —Hayden Carruth “Oppenheimer was an immense and buoyant influence on the poesy of my contemporaries and me.â€� —Andrei Codrescu Joel Oppenheimer (1930 - 1988) published more than a dozen books of poetry.

The sublime collection of 418 superbly detailed paintings of hummingbirds by the great artist John Gould, the 19th-century naturalist painter often referred to as the British Audubon, represents all the known species on the planet at the time and is the most complete ever produced. Like Audubon, Gould depicted the birds as they are in life, in their native habitats, which was still a revolutionary approach at the time. Yet Unlike Audubon, Gould travelled widely across the globe and the exquisite hummingbirds he painted so beautifully represent all the known species at the time and haled from the most remote and exotic ecosystems on the planet. In their essay for the book, co-writers Joel and Laura Oppenheimer tell the story of Gould s colourful life and place his work in the context of the times, when exploration of science and the world s natural wonders was at an all-time high. The Family of Hummingbirds will delight birdwatching hobbyists, fans of naturalist historical prints, and especially lovers of the avian Tinker Bell.