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AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES. The birds of America, from drawings made in the United States and their territories. Volume 5.. New York: V. G. Audubon, 1856., New York:, 1856.

Price: US$2784.30 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES The birds of America, from drawings made in the United States and their territories. Volume 5. New York: V. G. Audubon, 1856. 4to. (28x19 cm.), volume 5 only, 346 p., 70 full-page hand-colored plates with tissue guards. Publisher's deluxe binding in full blind-stamped morocco, blind stamped inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Very good ISBN: CATALOG: Zoology KEYWORDS: Zoology America Birds Ornithology

Seller: BOSPHORUS BOOKS, Istanbul, Turkey

CASSIN, John (1813-1869).. Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America. as, Oregon, British and Russian America.. J. B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1856.

Price: US$12000.00 + shipping

Description: CASSIN, John (1813-1869). Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America. Intended to Contain Descriptions and Figures of all North American Birds Not Given by Former American Authors, and a General Synopsis of North American Ornithology. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1856 8vo., (10 2/8 x 6 7/8 inches). Hand-coloured lithographed frontispiece and 49 plates by William E. Hitchcock, some after George G. White, all printed and hand-colored by J.T. Bowen of Philadelphia. Contemporary half brown morocco, marbled paper boards (rebacked preserving the original spine). Provenance: with the ownership inscription of Col. George A. McCall (1802-1868) on the title-page, some marginal notes on pages 214 and 262, and an 4-page autograph manuscript description of the Ground cuckoo laid-in. First edition, and a fine association copy of this rare and important work, a supplement to Audubon, and one of the cornerstones of American ornithological literature. Cassin's work, first published in parts between July 1853 and June 1855 (with a title-page issued in 1856), was intended to complement the octavo edition of Audubon's work. The annexation of Texas and the addition of California and New Mexico to the United States had led to increased exploration and research in the South West. "At first the Audubons were receptive. however, Cassin wanted shared credit on the title page and a free hand in correcting the errors of nomenclature of the elder Audubon, a touchy point with the sons. In the end, Cassin went on his own, although clearly following the Audubon format and also using J.T. Bowen as a lithographer" (Reese). Anker 92; Ayer p. 124; Fine Bird Books p. 64; Nissen IVB 173; Reese American color Plate Books 42; Ripley p. 54; Wood p. 281; Zimmer p.124-25. [Laid-in] George McCall. Autograph manuscript, :Geococcyx viaticus." 3 1/2 pages, 4to. McCall provides detailed observations of the Ground Cuckoo, used by Cassin in his text: "Our esteemed friend, Col. George A. McCall, with his usual clearness and scientific accuracy, gave the first satisfactory account of this bird, in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy" (p. 214). Cassin's text on p. 215 quotes directly from McCall's manuscript: "At first, I thought--as is the general impression among the Mexicans,--that his powers of flight were extremely limited; but he will, when suddenly alarmed in open ground, rise with a light, quick [rapid in mss] motion, and continue his flight." McCall has made two corrections in the margins of pages 214 and 262 in his copy and on the latter page, which quotes his description of the Curved-Billed Thrush, he has excised a sentence and noted: "Impertinently interlarded by the Editor John Cassin." McCall distinguished himself under Zachary Taylor during the Mexican War. McCall had long been a collector of bird specimens in Florida, Mexico, the American West and Texas. The Texas Screech Owl, Otus asio mccalli, is named in his honor. Cassin, in his preface to the book, lists McCall first among the "kind friends whose contributions have added so much to the interest of this volume" (p.v.). Catalogued by Kate Hunter

Seller: Arader Galleries - AraderNYC, New York, NY, U.S.A.

Audubon, John James.. The Birds of America, from Drawings made in the United States and their Territories.. New York: V. G. Audubon. R. Craighead, Electrotyper and Stereotyper., 1856.

Price: US$24000.00 + shipping

Condition: Fine

Description: Six volumes (1 through 6) of seven. Second octavo edition. Tall octavos. Size of bindings: 6 3/4 in. x 10 1/2 in., illustrated with 420 hand-colored lithographic plates of birds, with colored backgrounds, with tissue guards (420 of 500). Olive green morocco leather (which has faded to brown) spine, sides and corner-pieces, with marbled-paper over boards, and matching marbled endpapers; bound by Ringer for A. C. McClurg & Co., with its stamp on the endpapers; featuring five raised bands on the spine with gilt titling; top-edges gilt. The cover corners show light wear, some scattered spotting to some text pages, some light, age-related tanning to a few of the plate margins. With the bookplates of Cleveland, Ohio-based book collector, William G. Mather (1857-1951) on the front marbled paste-downs. The coloring is quite bright and delicate, and very effective on the pastel colored backgrounds.

Seller: Peter Keisogloff Rare Books, Inc., Brecksville, OH, U.S.A.

AUDUBON John James. Birds of America. , 1856.

Price: US$58500.00 + shipping

Description: "AUDUBON, John James. The Birds of America from Drawings Made in the United States and Their Territories. New York: V. G. Audubon, 1856-57. Seven volumes. Royal octavo, publisher's full brown morocco, elaborately decorated in blind, raised bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. $58,500.Second octavo edition, the first edition with fully colored backgrounds, containing 500 superb hand-colored plates.One of the most spectacular series of ornithological prints ever produced and a landmark attempt to document the birds of North America. Identical to the first octavo edition, printed in 1840-44, except that the prints have tinted lithographic-wash backgrounds. The royal octavo edition, which Audubon referred to as the "petit edition," contained new species of birds and plants not included in the folio edition, with the birds grouped in an orderly scientific manner. "His first objective was to observe birds in their native habitat, to see their behavior, their ways of standing, walking, flying, their feeding and nesting habits, seasonal plumage and all the rest. He traveled up and down the Mississippi and Ohio River areas, and up and down the Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Key West. He spent a winter near Charleston, South Carolina traveled to Labrador, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia and Texas" (Gifts of Genius, 137). "The Birds of America exemplifies man's ability to accomplish an almost impossible task through sacrifice and persistence. Audubon set out to paint and publish an example of every bird on the North American continent He was the first artist-naturalist to illustrate American birds, life-size, in natural poses; the backgrounds, or habitats, are more natural looking than those of his predecessors" (Handbook of Audubon Prints, 17-18). "The most splendid book ever produced in relation to America, and certainly one of the finest ornithological works ever printed He 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 The courage and faith of the Audubon family is breathtaking This immense undertaking, this unparalleled achievement, was not the production of a great and long-established publishing house, nor was it backed by a wealthy institution. It 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). Without half titles in last two volumes. Grolier 45. Nissen IVB 52. Anker 19. Sabin 2364. Bookplates, early gift inscriptions.Some foxing to text, as often; plates bright and lovely, with only occasional instances of very faint foxing. A few volumes with expert repairs to text blocks and inner hinges. A beautiful set."

Seller: Bauman Rare Books, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.