From John J Audubon April 28 1831

My Dear Sir

I arrived here last evening and take pleasure in forwarding you a copy of my "Ornithological Biography" which I hope you will accept as a small token of my regard and esteem with many many thanks for all your kind attentions to me. When you have read a portion of the book I should be glad to know from you if you think it would be well to send some copies to Cambridge for sale and as I know no Bookseller there to have the goodness to recommend me to an honest one.

I leave this for Paris this day week and will be absent for about 1 month therefore should you have leisure pray answer to my query ere I depart.

It is my intention to go to America on the 1st day of August and therefore I again offer you my services in any manner which you may think fit to order - my absence will be about 12 months and I go purposely to give a last ransacking of the woods with a hope to find something new.

My Subscribers are now having my first volume of the "Birds of America" bound. I should be glad to hear that this will also be the case at Cambridge. The 20th Number compleates it with the Title-page which you have received. No 21 is the commencement of the 2 d Volume which will finish the Land Birds.

Please present my best regards to your Lady and Mr Jennings (sic) and believe me

Very sincerely yours & much obliged

John J. Audubon

From: Three Letters of John James Audubon to John Stephens Henslow. Printed in 1943 for members of the Roxburghe Club of San Francisco by the Grabhorn Press