John Gould had humble beginnings as a gardener, before learning the art of taxidermy. Establishing a prosperous business in London, in this way he gained access to newly discovered bird species from all over the world. This, together with his wife Elizabeth's skill as a lithographer, saw the birth of the Goulds' beautiful bird illustrations. Today, these volumes of plates are amongst the foremost gems of the Library collections.

Elizabeth Gould's two brothers had settled in New South Wales and they sent to London the first Australian bird specimens John Gould had seen. In 1838 John and Elizabeth journeyed to Australia to see and collect more birds themselves. In Adelaide John Gould met the explorer Charles Sturt, and collected bird specimens at Mount Lofty, on Kangaroo Island, and along the Murray. Gould's completed Birds of Australia is acknowledged as his greatest work. The limerick writer Edward Lear was one of the artists employed by John Gould.

The first plate shown here depicts the Masked Barn Owl, now known by the scientific name of Tyoto novaehollandiae. Each of the lithographed plates is hand-coloured, and finished with a coating of egg white to highlight the colours.

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