Author: Geoff Norman
Publication date: October 2012
Foreword by Stephen Fry
Place an order with Te Papa Store.
Buller’s Birds of New Zealand includes the complete set of 95 artworks from both editions of A History of the Birds of New Zealand by Walter Buller and the subsequent supplement, specially photographed and reproduced at original size and in full colour using high quality modern printing techniques. Each bird painting is accompanied by a selection of Buller’s original, descriptive text as well as up-to-date taxonomic information in English and te reo Māori.
Uniquely, Buller’s Birds of New Zealand features fresh reproductions of the original watercolour-and-pencil paintings for Buller’s iconic second edition and its supplement, made possible by the author’s rediscovery of these works at the Ornithological Branch of the British Natural History Museum. Bright, luminous and clear, Keulemans’ masterpieces are seen here for the first time as the artist intended.
Bound in cloth and beautifully presented in a slipcase, this edition at last makes available the masterpieces inside the rarely seen, and highly valued, original books.
View sample pages here (PDF, 1MB),
A full range of stationery accompanies this publication.
Book of the Year
Buller’s Birds of New Zealand is the NZ Herald Book of the Year,
‘We will never know first hand what those extinct birds looked or sounded like but here they are within the pages of this beautiful boxed set’
- NZ Herald, December 2012.
The NZ Listener has also included Buller’s Birds of New Zealand in their 100 Best Books of the Year, plus North and South has it in their Best Books for Christmas.
Interviews
Listen to an interview with Kim Hill on National Radio 20 October 2012.
Alison Ballance interviews author Geoff Norman and Te Papa curator Colin Miskelly on Our Changing World, National Radio 15 November 2012.
What the reviews are saying:
“a big, handsome new book…
The new Buller’s Birds of New Zealand, with its vivid illustrations, was produced with meticulous reference to the originals”
– Weekend Press, and Dominion Post Your Weekend, 27/10/12
“Superb, and cheap at the price. The creamy, heavy paper stock, the airy design, slipcase and gilt edges… our national birds fly off every page as exquisite and bright and alive as the artist intended. Each painting and original 19th-century caption by Buller gets plenty of visual oxygen in the form of its own double-page spread. Excellent modern add-ons include each bird’s name in Maori, and a foreword by Stephen Fry (who calls the kakapo an “utterly endearing fat nocturnal parrot”).”
North & South Dec 2012
About the author
A keen tramper and ecologist, Geoff Norman holds qualifications in science and environmental studies and has worked in publishing for over 25 years. Buller's Birds of New Zealand is his first full-length book.
NZ RRP (incl. GST): $150.00
Extent: 240 pp HB Contains 95+ full-colour plates and b&w images
Format: 360 × 270 mm
ISBN: 978-1-877385-88-9