THE BIRD FOLIOS OF JOHN GOULD

               JOHN GOULD (1804-1881), was one of those numerous indefatigable British Naturalists who were engaged in a seemingly endless array of projects.  Known by the unusual sobriquet, "The Bird Man", he taught himself taxidermy, became curator of the Zoological Society Museum, married Elizabeth Coxen (1804-1841), and embarked upon the first of a series of monumental Ornithological projects on the Birds of the Himalayan Mountains.....all in the space of 10 years!!!  He suffered many hardships, including the early death of his wife, but undaunted, he produced over 3000 magnificent hand-colored folio prints.  Many of the finest artists in England and Europe assisted him on his projects including Edward Lear, H.C. Richter, William Hart, and Josef Wolf.  What separated Gould from most of his contemporaries was that he was not only a superb organizer, but he was also an astute businessman.  One of his greatest joys was a voyage to Philadelphia with his son in 1857 for the express purpose of seeing his first "live" Hummingbird!!