Sir David Attenborough discusses Sharpe's Birds of Paradise with Production Director Joe Whitlock Blundell.

The Folio Society is proud to reproduce, for the first time, all 79 plates of Sharpe’s Birds of Paradise in book form at their actual size, with a foreword by David Attenborough. At the time when this remarkable book was first produced, lithographic plate reproduction had reached its peak of subtlety and precision. The illustrations showed these fabulous birds in radiant colour and exquisite detail. With this edition, you now have the opportunity to own an extraordinary work of natural history.

At the end of the 19th century, Richard Bowdler Sharpe published his Monograph of the Paradiseidae and Ptilonorhynchidae. Dedicated entirely to birds of paradise and bowerbirds, it is one of the greatest bird books and, for many, the most beautiful ever created.

The illustrations showed these fabulous birds in radiant colour and exquisite detail. Their beauty is breathtaking – from the Great Sicklebilled Bird of Paradise, with its shimmering plumage and long, sweeping tail feathers, to the Emperor Bird of Paradise with its foamy white and golden plumage. The book is an ornithological and artistic triumph.

The Folio Society produces beautifully crafted collector’s editions of the world’s greatest books, each with unique illustrations or specially researched photographs throughout. Find the books you love at foliosociety.com.

See this limited edition: www.foliosociety.com/book/SBP/sharpesbirdsofparadise