Avian art can provide a glimpse into the history of ornithology and how people of the past incorporated birds into their daily lives.
Feathers and Folios, an exhibit in Linderman Library running through December 20, takes its audience on a journey through this art using books and manuscripts depicting birds in historical, religious, scientific and artistic texts. Artists featured, both professional and amateur, include John James Audubon, Hans Christian Andersen and John Gould. Some pieces show birds that are now extinct and offer a chance to observe species that can no longer be found in the wild.
The largest of the displays is a copy of Audubon’s “Birds of America,” a nearly four-foot-tall book containing hand-colored images of specimens he collected and received from other collectors. Another case displays field guides and literature with images of now-extinct species.
A third showcases the use of bird-related imagery in religious and literary texts, and even includes articles showing the university’s connection with birds through discussion of the mountain hawk.
The pieces, many of which were donated by alumni, all come from the library’s permanent collection. Images from the exhibit can be viewed online at exhibits.lib.lehigh.edu/exhibits/show/feathers/about.
—Grace Roche ’25
