£7m library book finally revealed

For a century, the book and three companion volumes that comprise Audubon’s Birds of America have been in a vault, too valuable to be exhibited in public.

But soon, 102 years after they were gifted to Glasgow’s Mitchell Library, they will go on display to attract Glaswegians and international visitors alike.

The labyrinthine building, the largest public reference library in Europe, which is known as the People’s University, is to undergo a 3.5 million redevelopment.

Curators plan to make Audubon’s Birds... the centrepiece of a new visitor attraction.

"It’s one of the world’s best kept secrets, but it will at last be available to all," said Pamela Tulloch, the information services manager at the library.

Glasgow’s "double elephant folio" - the books measure 39in by 27in - is one of the few remaining complete sets created from paintings by the 19th century artist-adventurer John James Audubon.

The last one to reach auction sold recently for 7 million in New York.

Ms Tulloch added: "It feels strange to be in the same room as something so valuable, but its value to the city goes beyond money."

Audubon combined beautiful art with scientific integrity and his depiction of American birdlife remains a standard work.

Edinburgh University owned a copy, but it was sold in 1992 for a then world record price of 2.3 million.

Glasgow’s Audubon came with the Robert Jeffrey collection.

In his lifetime, the Victorian cotton magnate amassed one of the world’s most comprehensive libraries.

When the Edinburgh-born millionaire died in 1902, his Govan born wife, Margaret, bequeathed his library - and its Grecian-style bookcases - to the Mitchell.

It included the Audubon, which had been collected by subscription over an 11 year period from 1827 to 1838.

Because of the nature of its publication, the majority of sets were never completed and fewer than 15 are left.

The Mitchell Library wants to use its set as a focus for a wider exhibition, which interprets the book and places it in its time.

"We confidently expect it to attract visitors from around the world," said Ms Tulloch.

The 3.5 million first phase of the library redevelopment will begin in October and hopefully be completed by early in 2006.

Ms Tulloch said: "There will be a new caf bar and exhibition spaces."

Further phases of redevelopment will "cut through the labyrinth" and allow many of the library’s unseen treasures to be displayed.

But none are more valuable than the Audubon.

The artist, born in 1785, became known as the "American woodsman".

However, he was born in what is now Haiti, the son of a French sea captain and his French mistress.

He was taken to France, where as a child he developed an interest in art and nature.

In 1803, he went to Philadelphia, but eventually headed to the frontier and settled briefly in Kentucky.

He decided to depict America’s bird species and equipped with paints - and armed with a gun - he headed south down the Mississippi.

For half-a-century he was America’s dominant wildlife artist. His seminal Birds of America contains 435 life-size paintings.

What was unique about Audubon was that he was the first artist to bring life to his subject. "Wildlife" artists normally drew stuffed birds.

In 1828, he sailed for England and became an instant success. His paintings, accompanied by tales of the wilderness, captivated the British.

Audubon found a publisher for his magnum opus. He later collaborated with the eminent Aberdeen-born artist and naturalist, William McGillivray, to produce another work, the Ornithological Biography.