More about the book 

The Big Book of Birds of Britain, a sequel to John d Green’s classic 1967 Birds of Britain book, is being published in a staggering large format limited edition. This is the definitive book of photographs from John d Green’s outstanding Birds of Britain archives.

The Big Book of Birds of Britain is a book on a spectacular scale. All our books are produced in an epic physical size, with a mammoth 24 x 36 inch spread size when the book is open. The Big Book of Birds of Britain includes approximately 200 photographs over 96 pages, and contains a wealth of previously unpublished photographs, including an entirely new species of bird, not included in the original book.

Why is this book important? Because something revelatory happens when a photograph is presented in a very large format like this: hidden details come to light, and the power and impact of the image are magnified exponentially. Unless you go to a gallery and see a large format print on the wall, you can’t experience this. That’s where we come in. Our books package the essence of large format gallery exhibitions, without reducing the impact of scale. Imagine an entire art gallery exhibition that you get to take home and keep forever.

The Big Book of Birds of Britain defies the normal ‘coffee table’ convention. In fact, it is like no book you will have seen before: much larger than a traditional coffee table volume, it is slim and elegant at the same time. It is housed in a beautiful custom slipcase. The cover of the book and slipcase have been deliberately left free of text so that nothing detracts from the power of the images. As a result, the book looks like a work of art you could hang on your wall. And in fact you can, as we have developed a special slide-in-slide-out frameless acrylic display unit that enables you to do just that. More on that later.

John d Green

John d Green won his first camera aged 10 – a prize for taking a photograph with a pinhole camera made from a mustard tin. The irony would not be lost in later years on John, who, in a dazzling career as a top advertising photographer in the early sixties, would go on to photograph a great deal of mustard.

John left school at 15 and began a six year apprenticeship at a firm of commercial photographers in London, learning all aspects of the business. It was only in the fourth year of his apprenticeship that he was allowed to use the company’s studio and take pictures for the first time. He never looked back. He rented his first studio in Knightsbridge, funded with £70 cash and an overdraft as long as his arm. From the off, his work was highly regarded by art directors from top advertising agencies, and within two years he was able to buy a studio in Adam & Eve Mews,Kensington,where he would be based for the rest of his career.

Whatever spare time he had in the sixties was spent motor racing, and he frequently raced at Brands Hatch and other circuits all over the country in his Marcos GT. Birds of Britain might never have been, as John almost came to a sticky end at Whitsun in 1966. He was racing at Brands Hatch when he ran out of road at the circuit, his car somersaulted four times, and he crashed into a bank. To the surprise of spectators, John was able to crawl out from the wreckage with nothing more than a broken ankle.

After the success of Birds of Britain, John moved away from photography and launched a floating nightclub and restaurant on the Thames called the Sloop John D, which he ran for four years, and then sold. He returned to photography and specialised in shooting luxury cars on location, and subsequently fashion and beauty. He then retired, never taking a photograph in anger again. John now divides his time between London and the Balearic Islands, where he is a passionate sailor.

Here come the girls

The Big Book of Birds of Britain features Julie Christie, Charlotte Rampling, Alexandra Bastedo, Pattie Boyd, Cathy McGowan, Jane Birkin, Mary Quant, Martine Beswick, Mary-Gaye Curzon, Annabella Macartney, Viviane Ventura, Diana McLeod, Susan Maughan, Sue Cornwallis, Juliet Harmer, Marianne Faithfull, Sue Murray, Suzanna Leigh, Vicki Hodge, Susannah York, Sarah Miles, Ingrid Boulting, Sue Lloyd, Angela Pringle, Sandra Paul, Shirley Watts, Paula Noble, Dusty Springfield, Hayley Mills, Jane Asher, Susan Hampshire, Lulu, Jacqueline Rufus Isaacs, Annegret, Cetra Hearne, Chrissie Shrimpton, Cilla Black, Claire Bewick, Edina Ronay, Fay Browning, Ilona Rodgers, Ingrid Hepner, Shirley Scott James, Jacquetta Lampson, Jane and Victoria Ormsby-Gore, Helen and Catherine Jay, Mary Bee, Paddy Carrington-Bates, Pat Booth, Rory Davies, Samantha Juste, Sandy Shaw, Shirley Anne Field, Sibylla Edmonstone, Venetia Cuninghame and Victoria Mills.

Birdmaniacs should note that one of the above ladies is a completely new discovery and did not feature in the original 1967 book.