Researchers Unveil “Holy Grail” of Audubon Illustration

PHILADELPHIA (REUTERS).- Researchers have found the first published illustration by John James Audubon, America’s most famous bird artist, ending decades of searching for the prized but elusive work. Audubon had made two references to the illustration in his diaries, but it had never been seen until it was found on a sheet of sample images produced in 1824 by a New Jersey engraver who specialized in illustrations for banknotes. Eric Newman, a numismatic, or currency, historian working with Robert Peck, [...]