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AUDUBON, John James (1785-1851). The Birds of Amer

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New York and Philadelphia: E.G.Dorsey for J.J.Audubon and [vols.I-V] J.B.Chevalier, [1839-]1840-1844. 7 volumes, royal 8vo (253 x 163 mm). Half-titles, 17pp. of subscriber's names. 500 hand-colored lithographic plates after Audubon by W.E. Hitchcock, R. Trembly and others, printed and colored by Bowen. Contemporary purple half morocco over purple straight-grained cloth, spine in six compartments with raised bands, lettered in gilt in the second and fifth compartments, cream glazed endpapers. Condition: overall spotting to text, generally light, most plates clean but with occasional light toning and offsetting from facing text, small stain to 'Bald Eagle' plate, faint marginal spotting to various plates of vol. II and first few plates of vol. III; head and feet of spines rubbed, joints rubbed and with small splits, a few scuffs and fading to cloth edges, light spotting to endpapers, neat repair to uppermost compartment of spine of vol. III, head of spine spine of vol.VI with 150mm. vertical crease running downwards from head of spine. Provenance: Wm.W. or E.E Swain (New Bedford, Mass., subscribers, pencilled signature 'Swain' on each half title); Lynn Abbott Trust. first octavo and first american edition of the greatest american bird book: "most beautiful, popular, and important natural history books published in america in the nineteenth century" (Tyler) A fine subscriber's copy, bound from the original parts, with the 'Black-shouldered Elanus' plate (no. 16) in its earliest state, and with plate 17 'Mississippi Kite' correctly numbered 17. The full story of the production of first octavo edition is told in RonTyler's Audubon's Great National Work (Austin, 1993). The plates, printed from lithographic stones and beautifully hand-colored by J.T. Bowen of Philadelphia, are here accompanied by the text for the first time. The images were reduced and variously modified from the Havell engravings in the London double-elephant folio using a camera lucida. Seven new species are figured and seventeen others, previously described in the Ornithological Biography but not illustrated, were also shown for the first time. The smaller format made the work available to a much larger audience (as the extensive lists of subscribers show), and the whole enterprise was a tremendous commercial, critical and popular success, securing Audubon's place as America's best known ornithologist. Ayer/Zimmer, p.22; Bennett, p.5; Nissen IVB 51; Reese Stamped with a National Character 34; Sabin 2364; Wood p.208(7)

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