Loading

The snowy owl, in John James Audubon, The Birds of America

1827–38

The British Library

The British Library
London, United Kingdom

First-year students at Hogwarts were allowed to bring an owl, a cat or a toad to school – all animals with historic magical significance. Here you can see a pair of snowy owls, the same breed as Hedwig, Harry’s owl. The hand-coloured illustration appears in the enormous Birds of America, which shows every bird native to North America at actual size. The finished book is just over 3¼ feet (1m) tall and is the most expensive printed book ever sold at auction. Shown here: vol. 2, plate CXXI

Show lessRead more
  • Title: The snowy owl, in John James Audubon, The Birds of America
  • Date Created: 1827–38
  • Location: British Library, London, UK
  • Location Created: New York
  • Type: Printed book
  • Original Source: N.L. Tab.2
  • Rights: Public Domain. For more information visit: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
The British Library

Get the app

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Home
Discover
Play
Nearby
Favorites