The most spectacular of all ‘bird books’, Audubon’s Birds of America is one of the largest books in the Royal Library. In 1826, after American publishers decided not to risk backing such a huge project by a naturalist with no prior scientific reputation, Audubon travelled to Britain to find investors. Making a striking appearance among British society dressed in his frontier clothes, with his watercolours strapped to his back, Audubon soon found admirers. Among his new supporters was George IV, who subscribed to receive the double-elephant folio plates, which enabled even the largest birds to be depicted life-size.