Books

New York: V.G. Audubon, 1856. Second octavo edition, the first edition with fully colored backgrounds. Complete in seven volumes. With 500 beautiful hand-colored lithographed plates. Bound in publisher's full brown morocco decoratively stamped & lettered in blind on covers, spines lettered in gilt, raised bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Very Good+, wear and scuffing to bindings, a couple of joints rubbed; light foxing to some prelims and occasionally to margins of text leaves but not to the plates, a few plates with minor darkening, brown spot in margin of plate 377 intruding to a few adjacent leaves. Inner hinges of vols. 5, 6, and 7 repaired with archival mending tissue. Booksellers tickets on paste downs. A handsome set of Audubon's ornithological masterpiece in its original bindings. It is perhaps the most important American color-plate book of the 19th century. The plates, accompanied for the first time in the octavo edition by the text, were reduced and modified…

"The Birds of America" is a monumental work by John James Audubon, published as a series between 1827 and 1838. It is one of the most famous and celebrated ornithological works in the world, known for its life-size, hand-colored, engraved plates of birds from the United States. Audubon's work stands out for its combination of artistic beauty and scientific accuracy. The collection features 435 plates, depicting more than 700 bird species, many of which were being documented for the first time. Audubon employed a unique method of mounting dead birds in natural positions on wires as a reference, which helped him create more dynamic illustrations. His attention to detail and commitment to depicting birds in their natural habitats made "The Birds of America" not only a major scientific achievement but also an artistic masterpiece. Audubon's work had a significant impact on ornithology and art in the 19th century, contributing to the burgeoning interest in bird study and conservation in America and Europe. The original editions of "The Birds of America" are among the most sought-after and valuable books in the world, prized by collectors and institutions for their historical and aesthetic value.