Audubon, John James | Ornithological Biography, first edition

Audubon, John James

Ornithological Biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America; accompanied by descriptions of the objects represented in the work entitled The Birds of America, and interspersed with delineations of American scenery and manners. Edinburgh & London: Printed by Neill & Co. for Adam & Charles Black, and R. Havell Jun., and Longman, Rees, Brown and Green, and various others, 1831, 1834, 1835 [but with New York 1836 overslip pasted to the half-title], 1838, 1849 [i.e. 1839]

5 volumes, large 8vo (262 x 158 mm). Half-titles to volumes 1 & 3 only, woodcut illustrations, prospectus and list of subscribers for Birds of America with separate title bound at the end of vol. 1; lightly toned, a few stray stains, light offsetting, “1887” stamped to titles, preliminary gatherings of vol. 2 shaken, marginal tear with loss to p. 421 in vol. 2. Half cloth with contemporary paper boards, spines with black morocco lettering pieces, patterned endpapers, bound by Goodall & Suddick, Cookridge Street, Leeds, edges speckled red; rubbing to extremities, corners bumped, wear to covers and joints, lettering pieces chipped, joints starting on some volumes.

First edition, compiled to accompany the elephant folio of Audubon's The Birds of America—a good tall copy.

Audubon noted his intention to issue the volumes separately 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, I:163). But the publication of the separate letterpress volumes was also a practical economic decision—according to 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. 

Though he had begun thinking about these works as early as 1826, he did not begin working on them until the end of 1830, as engraver Robert Havell was concluding work on the first 100 drawings. He continued writing the volumes throughout that decade, concluding in 1839. This set contains the separately-issued prospectus and list of subscribers for the elephant folio edition, bound into volume one. Unusually, it also contains one of the rare American "copyright" slips in volume three.

REFERENCES

Ayer 20; Ellis 96 & 100; Waldemar H. Fries, The Double Elephant Folio, pp. 20, 21, [etc.]; Yale/Ripley 13; Zimmer 20