My Word with Douglas E. Welch

The National Audubon Society has released all of John James Audubon’s magnificent watercolors from his classic work Birds of America (1827-1838) as free, high-resolution downloads for printing. The 435 life-size watercolors in the collection were “all reproduced from hand-engraved plates, and is considered to be the archetype of wildlife illustration.” Each image’s web page is accompanied by Audubon’s wonderful first-person descriptions of the animal.