A true treasure from FDR's personal book collection. An avid bird lover FDR owned an amazing collection of ornithology books including all of Audubon. The man who inspired Audubon was Francois LeVaillant and here is a sample of his work, from 1807. (1/8)

LeVaillant explored South Africa and documented its wildlife and birds. He published his first book in 1790. Some credit him as inventing the safari. He brought back thousands of specimens and had then preserved and painted, mostly by Jacques Barraband (2/8)

He was the first to use colored plates and the way he showed the birds in action was revolutionary and strongly influenced Audubon and others. He discovered many new species and several are named after him - this is the LeVaillant Parrot (3/8)

The detail is truly beautiful and remarkable for its time. These illustrations are from his book on sugarbirds and bee eaters (Histoire naturelle des Promerops, et des Guepier) (4/8)

He went to the Cape of Good Hope in 1780, at the age of 27. He decided to study the bird and animal life in their natural habitat. (5/8)

At that time, South Africa was a relatively unknown and exotic location and he collected specimens that would establish his reputation within the scientific community. (6/8)

Ian Glenn who wrote a book about him said "he was one of the best taxidermists of his age, he could put the birds into striking poses, dramatizing their effect. And he could then reach a public outside the museums through the illustrations. (7/8)

I am working on a full blog post on LeVaillant and his remarkable books and will post it soon. I hope you enjoy these marvelous illustrations. @audubonsociety @DoctorLomazow @AmOrnith @chicago_birder @FieldOrnith @petersonguides #birds #birdwatching