Owls Serenade Journal — Wilson 1808 & Petrie 1894

The owl has been a symbol of wisdom, mystery, and the night for as long as human beings have looked up at the dark. Alexander Wilson gave North America's owls their first great scientific portraits in 1808 — and eight decades later, H.W. Petrie's parlour song captured the Victorian fascination with the owl's nocturnal allure in the sinuous lines of Art Nouveau. This journal unites both traditions across its covers.

The front cover presents Wilson's hand-coloured engravings of three North American owl species from American Ornithology (1808) — the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus), the Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio), and the Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) — each captured with the scientific precision and artistic devotion that made Wilson the father of American ornithology. The back cover reproduces the cover of H.W. Petrie's Owls Serenade (1894), published by the Petrie Music Company of Chicago — an Art Nouveau illustration of an owl perched on a branch, rendered in the sinuous lines and romantic atmosphere of the style, with bold red Victorian typography spelling out the title above: a portrait of the owl as the Victorian parlour knew it, mysterious and wise and entirely at home in the candlelit room.

Product Details

• Format: 5.75 × 8 in (14.6 × 20.3 cm)
• Pages: 150 lined pages (75 sheets)
• Perforated pages — tear out cleanly without damaging the binding
• Paper weight: 90 gsm, suitable for fountain pens and pencils
• Hardcover with matte finish, casewrap sewn binding
• Weight: 400 g (14.1 oz)

Perfect For

• Owl enthusiasts, birders, and ornithology admirers
• Music lovers and Victorian sheet music collectors
• Natural history and American ornithology enthusiasts
• Students and researchers of Victorian popular culture and decorative arts
• Writers, poets, and artists inspired by the nocturnal world and the owl's eternal serenade
• Thoughtful gifts for anyone captivated by the beauty, mystery, and cultural resonance of the owl

Read more: The Owl in Victorian Culture: From Ancient Wisdom to Art Nouveau