29 37AUDUBON, John James. The Birds of America. New York and Philadelphia, 1840-44. Seven volumes. Royal octavo, contemporary full green morocco gilt. $120,000 First octavo edition, and first American edition, containing 500 superb handcolored plates. “The most splendid book ever produced in relation to America, and certainly one of the finest ornithological works ever printed… [Audubon] insisted on drawing from life, never from stuffed specimens, and was much in advance of his time in portraying the birds (in many cases unrecorded species) in their natural surroundings… This immense undertaking... was the work of a man of relentless energy, with no private fortune, who supported himself by hack painting… It is a story without equal in the whole history of publishing” (Great Books and Book Collectors, 210-13). This royal octavo edition contained new species of birds and plants not included in the double elephant folio edition (published between 1827 and 1838). Light to moderate foxing to text as often seen, plates almost entirely clean; spines gently toned, joints slightly rubbed. A handsome set of one of the most important and desirable of all American plate books. “The Most Splendid Book Ever Produced In Relation To America… One Of The Finest Ornithological Works Ever Printed”
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