Join exhibit curator Albertus Gorman for an overview of the new exhibition, The Printed Bird: Five Hundred Years of Birds in Fine Books, on display September 12, 2024 - January 16, 2025 in the Sally Newkirk Gallery.

Drawing upon works in the collections of the Floyd County Library and the private collections of Raymond Graf and Albertus Gorman, this exhibition is a fairly comprehensive survey of bird illustrations from antique disbound books that will help us to better understand how we came to know what we know about the avian world. Birds were among the first animals to be scientifically described and recorded in books. 

The Printed Bird features many high notes among the naturalists and artists who drew and documented birds for books. This was a rich tradition and among the luminaries whose work is on display include: Conrad Gesner, Francois Martinet, John James Audubon, Jacques Barraband, John and Elizabeth Gould, and many more. The exhibition begins shortly after the invention of the printing press in Mainz, Germany in 1430 and continues through the early 20th century in the United States. 

Free and open to the public, registration is required due to limited seating.

Image: Yellow-faced Parrakeet or Carolina Parakeet from A Natural History of Uncommon Birds
George Edwards (1694 - 1773)
Published for the Royal College of Physicians in London, 1743 - 1751
Originally hand colored, copper plate engraving
11 1/2" x 9"