“The Birds of America” has a long history of sticker shock. Audubon first issued his lavish collection of 435 bird prints in four volumes between 1827 and 1838. The books were massive, with pages more than two feet wide and more than a yard high, a design meant to accommodate Audubon’s desire to depict even big birds life-size. Because of their scale, and the exacting production values, Audubon’s first edition of “The Birds of America” costs $1,000 a set – about $23,000 in today’s dollars.
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