Count Raggi’s and Lesser Birds of Paradise. Stephen Rose, 2012. Oils on canvas, 57 cm × 71 cm (22 in × 27 in). Private collection.
Anyone writing about birds of paradise these days will, knowingly or unknowingly, owe a debt to Clifford Frith. The authors of this book certainly do. Together with Bruce Beehler, Frith has written the most modern and authoritative ornithological text about the family, The Birds of Paradise (1998). With his wife Dawn he has also made an encyclopaedic survey of the birds’ cultural impact in Birds of Paradise: Nature, Art and History (2010).
We also have debts for help in the selection of the illustrations that are such a major element in this book. Head of the list must be Raymond Ching and William Cooper who both generously gave us free access to their work. Dr and Mrs Edelstone put us on the trail of material relating to John Gould, and Judith Magee guided us towards some of the treasures in her charge at the Natural History Museum, London. Sheikh Saud Al-Thani kindly allowed access to paintings by Jacques Barraband. Vaso Kafkoula, Carel Brest van Kempen, Rhoda Kalt Knight, Stephen Rose, and the Yale Centre for British Art generously permitted reproduction of artworks. Richard Milner and Catherine Wallis made very useful suggestions, and Roddy Paine and his colleague Gavin Sawyer helped with photography, as did Mark Wood. Michael Drew, Georgina and Tom Luck, Alan Peacock, Angi and Phil O’Neill, Sue Luck, Tess Fuller, Cirel Greenwell and Hugh Porter advised on technical matters. Finally, we are both indebted to Susan Attenborough who supported us in many ways and who thought of the book’s title. Our sincere thanks go to them all.
D. F. A. & E. F.
Count Raggi’s and Lesser Birds of Paradise. Stephen Rose, 2012. Oils on canvas, 57 cm × 71 cm (22 in × 27 in). Private collection.