'In 1838, John Gould and his wife, Elizabeth, left behind their family and home in London to travel to the far-flung colony of Van Diemen's Land, from where Gould would travel around the mainland to observe the native fauna. Gould's artists - Elizabeth foremost among them - would depict these creatures in exquisite lithographs, accompanied by Gould's commentary. This book provides a brief sketch of the life of John Gould, and features over 130 colour plates of some of Australia's favourite birds and mammals from Gould's works held by the National Library of Australia.' (Trove record)
