When Ceri Levy asked Ralph Steadman to produce one piece of art representing an extinct bird for a recent exhibition, Ghosts of Gone Birds, Ralph said 'yes'. Then 'yes' again ... and again ... and again.
An astonishing 100 paintings later, Extinct Boids was born.
Ralph got carried away by the birds, taking Ceri with him ... this book details the discoveries they made on their travels through the savage seas of extinction. After stumbling on the previously hidden Toadstool Island,
where the extinct birds of the world live on in secretive harmony, the duo spent nearly a year in close proximity
to a host of fantastical avian creatures.
Ralph documents them all in this series of remarkable paintings, featuring unique interpretations of well-known
birds such as the Great Auk, Passenger Pigeon and Dodo, along with less familiar members of the feathersome firmament - Snail-eating Coua, for example, or the Red-moustached Fruit Dove - and a variety of bizarre beasts including the Gob Swallow, the Long-legged Shortwing and the Needless Smut. All are captured in a riot of expression and colour, with a slice of trademark Steadman humour.
Strictly limited to just 150 copies, this Special Edition is an ultra-deluxe version of the book, bound with real cloth and signed by Ralph and Ceri. It is in a cloth-bound presentation box, and comes complete with a signed, numbered A3 giclee print with torn edge and debossed border, featuring Steadman's interpretation of the Black Mamo. This print, produced specially for this book, makes this boxed set the ultimate collector's edition.
