Ornithological Biography, or an Account of the Habits of the Birds of the United States of America
- xxiv, 512, 15, [1]; xxxii, 588; xvi, 638; xxviii, 619; xxxix, [1], 664pp. Half-titles. With the Prospectus and List of Subscribe
- Edinburgh , 1849
Edinburgh, 1849. First edition. xxiv, 512, 15, [1]; xxxii, 588; xvi, 638; xxviii, 619; xxxix, [1], 664pp. Half-titles. With the Prospectus and List of Subscribers in the rear of vol. 1. 5 vols. Royal 8vo (10-1/2 x 6-1/2 inches). Later half sheep and marbled boards, leather labels, spines gilt. Minor toning to half titles and terminal leaves. Small unobtrusive library stamps (Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society). Else a clean, very good set. First edition. xxiv, 512, 15, [1]; xxxii, 588; xvi, 638; xxviii, 619; xxxix, [1], 664pp. Half-titles. With the Prospectus and List of Subscribers in the rear of vol. 1. 5 vols. Royal 8vo (10-1/2 x 6-1/2 inches). Audubon's text, designed to accompany the elephant folio first edition of The Birds of America, provides descriptions of the birds described therein, as well as his account of travels and adventures in the American hinterland, including experiences in Florida, along the Mississippi, and in Louisiana and Kentucky in the 1820s and 1830s.
Already at work on the drawings for the plates, in November 1826, Audubon first proposed textual descriptions to accompany them, noting in his journal: "I shall publish the letterpress in a separate book, at the same time with the illustrations and shall accompany the descriptions of the birds with many anecdotes and accounts of localities connected with the birds themselves ..." (M.R. Audubon Audubon and his journals 1897, vol.I, p.163).
The decision to publish the letterpress separately was rooted in British copyright law. Had the letterpress accompanied the engravings, Audubon would have been obliged to deposit a copy of the work in each of the nine copyright libraries in the United Kingdom. Given the extraordinary expense of producing the elephant folio work, giving away sets would have bankrupted him. Work on the text did not begin in earnest until the end of 1830.
Published in five volumes over the course of eight years, the work included in the rear of the first volume a prospectus for the elephant folio with a list of the first 180 subscribers (Fries edition E). The Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society was an original subscriber to the double-elephant folio, with Audubon obtaining their subscription in May 1827. The Society sold their portfolio and the present text in 1888-89 (see Fries, p. 164).
One of the classic texts of American natural history. Ayer 20; Ellis 96 & 100; Howes A389; Sabin 2366; Yale/Ripley 13; Zimmer 20. See Fries, The Double Elephant Folio The Story of Audubon's Birds of America (Chicago, 1973)
Already at work on the drawings for the plates, in November 1826, Audubon first proposed textual descriptions to accompany them, noting in his journal: "I shall publish the letterpress in a separate book, at the same time with the illustrations and shall accompany the descriptions of the birds with many anecdotes and accounts of localities connected with the birds themselves ..." (M.R. Audubon Audubon and his journals 1897, vol.I, p.163).
The decision to publish the letterpress separately was rooted in British copyright law. Had the letterpress accompanied the engravings, Audubon would have been obliged to deposit a copy of the work in each of the nine copyright libraries in the United Kingdom. Given the extraordinary expense of producing the elephant folio work, giving away sets would have bankrupted him. Work on the text did not begin in earnest until the end of 1830.
Published in five volumes over the course of eight years, the work included in the rear of the first volume a prospectus for the elephant folio with a list of the first 180 subscribers (Fries edition E). The Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society was an original subscriber to the double-elephant folio, with Audubon obtaining their subscription in May 1827. The Society sold their portfolio and the present text in 1888-89 (see Fries, p. 164).
One of the classic texts of American natural history. Ayer 20; Ellis 96 & 100; Howes A389; Sabin 2366; Yale/Ripley 13; Zimmer 20. See Fries, The Double Elephant Folio The Story of Audubon's Birds of America (Chicago, 1973)