Books

Royal Octavo. A marvelous 1854 partial 1st Octavo Edition set of Audubon's iconic masterpiece, in a contemporary Fine Binding. Three volumes, complete with 155 hand-colored stone lithographs by William E. Hitchcock, printed and colored in the Philadelphia shop of J.T. Bowen. Volumes I and II are 1854 early printings, while volume III is an 1854 1st Edition. Later three-quarter green levant morocco with titling and ruling in gilt. Spines aged to a rich golden brown. Raised bands to spine. All edges gilt. Square tight bindings. Clean interiors, save for the bookplate of early 20th-century Proctor and Gamble executive Stockton Buzby to the front pastedown. Volume I - viii, 383pp, 50 plates; Volume II - 334pp, 50 plates; Volume III - 348pp, 55 plates. Bound without tissue guards. Interior clean and bright with just a hint of sporadic foxing. Unobtrusive, minor offsetting opposite the lithographs. All hinges sound. "Quadrupeds" was first published in three elephant folio volumes 1845-1848, with 150 color plates. The first octavo edition was bound together from original parts, issued similarly to his octavo edition of 'Birds of America,' a wildly successful edition, more portable and affordable than the elephant folio version. The Octavo edition features all original 150 plates, plus five of 6 supplemental plates issued separately in 1854. Overall an exquisite set of exceptional quality.

'Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America' is another notable work by John James Audubon, initially intended to complement 'The Birds of America'. It provides detailed illustrations and descriptions of North American mammals.