The Birds of Great Britain
The Birds of Great Britain
Five volumes complete, 1862-1873 - Volume One - [13], ii-cxl, [2], thirty-seven plates with letterpress; Volume Two - [4], seventy-eight plates with letterpress; Volume Three - [4], seventy-six plates with letterpress; Volume Four - [4], ninety plates with letterpress; and Volume Five, [4], eighty-six plates with letterpress. Contemporary full morocco, raised bands, spines in six panels, author and title lettered directly to second panel, volume number to third, remaining panels gilt, with triple fillet frame surrounding elaborate volute tools, covers with a thick and thin line border surrounding several rolls and other single line frames, inner edges with thick and thin line bordering a repeating flower head roll, with a blind inner roll, a.e.g.
Slightly rubbed to extremities, but generally in very good order. Internally some light foxing mainly to margins, but occasionally heavier, affecting approximately fourteen plates and their text leaves, but nothing too obtrusive. Bookplate of Hermann Marx to each front pastedown, partiallly torn away in the third volume
With three hundred and sixty-seven hand coloured lithographic plates as called for, many heightened with gum-arabic, and two wood engraved illustrations
Issued in twenty-five parts, 'The Birds of Great Britain' was Gould's paean to the birds of his native land, and he was "especially proud of this work" (Sauer, 'John Gould', page 74). Notwithstanding the irony that much of the artwork was prepared from freshly killed specimens, the preface and text shows Gould’s acute understanding of the human threat to wildlife well before such views were commonplace: ‘Unfortunately, however, of late years vast numbers of certain species have been destroyed, either wantonly, or for senseless purposes of decoration instigated by fashion; and to such an extent has this been carried out it has become necessary to enact laws for their protection’ (Preface, p.ix)
Mullens and Swann, page 242; Nissen IVB: 372; Sauer 23
1862-1873
Good+
First Edition
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