Featured Menaboni's Birds

Found this beautiful book of bird illustrations by Athos Menaboni with text by his wife Sara. I'd never heard of him. These are nicer than Audubon's if you ask me.

 

Hi Bev,
beautiful book!!!!!! I learned sometime new I always thought female red wings had the same markings as the male.
greg

 

I opened another box from my late cousin's house. I think this is like Tut's tomb - it's a lifetime of work going through my family stuff. They were all packrats. I've found some treasures in with the trash, so I can't just chuck it all.

 

Sounds like fun to me!

 

It'a a gene, Bev. Aquiritus Collectivus Miscellaneous. Runs in the best of families.

 

I'm waiting for Gila to chime in on this.

 

You didn't include the title page or publishing info., but sellers are asking prices all the way from very very modest to reasonably robust for this title. There were some reprints, etc. Looks like it might have been first published in 1950. I haven't investigated that bibliographically, to see how many editions were issued, nor when the reprints were.

https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/menaboni's-birds/

You probably found this info about Menaboni's life:
https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/athos-menaboni-1895–1990

Sounds like he was well respected, and his "claim to fame" would be that he painted hundreds of bird species of the Atlanta, Georgia region.

Since he lived 100 years after Audubon, I don't think I would compare the influence of the two, at all. However, you just said you liked Menaboni's art better. You're entitled! I find that the style of painting changed so much in that 100 years that I wouldn't be able to select one as a favorite. They are both interesting. I tend to prefer the older art, in general. But Menaboni's is very nice. And I had not heard of him, either. Thanks for posting this!