The Birds of America by AUDUBON (1785-1851)
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Books Sciences
Chronology : 1820-1829 1830-1839
See also : Books Sciences
Chronology : 1820-1829 1830-1839
1827-1838
Intro
In 1807 two young Frenchmen open a general store in Louisville, Kentucky. Jean-Jacques Audubon cannot concentrate on his work. He is passionate about hunting and bird watching. He takes the US citizenship in 1812 and anglicizes his first name as John James.
He is early trained in taxidermy and performs one of the earliest attempts of bird ringing. His method is unprecedented. He kills his specimen with a shotgun and straightens it in a natural pose with a wire. Then he draws it life size, often with its female or its prey. He never draws from a stuffed bird.
Audubon goes bankrupt in 1819 and moves to Louisiana. Against the advice of his friends but with the support of his wife, he decides to publish his work. American learned societies repel this rustic man who had ridiculed the drawings by the ornithologist Alexander Wilson. In 1826, right in the romantic period, he arrives in England with his collection of watercolors.
The work to be done is colossal. He wants to maintain the 97 x 66 cm format of his drawing sheets. The plates should be colored one by one by hand. The only solution is the sale by subscription. The price will be two guineas per part of five plates.
This double elephant folio size is the largest format in period for an illustrated book : 100 x 67 cm. The gigantic size is matching the goal that John James Audubon managed for the great work of his life : he wanted all his birds being displayed in their natural habitat in life size, even by curving for that purpose in an elegant arabesque the neck of the flamingo.
No book has ever been printed in such a big size. He finds in Edinburgh in 1827 a printer, Lizars, to carry out the work. A first set of 10 plates, numbered from I to X, is prepared. There will be no additional part by Lizars, following a strike of the colorists. The business is now entrusted to Robert Havell Jr in London, until the 435th and final plate in 1838. A skilled engraver and printer unmatched in the aquatint, Havell manages to further improve the images.
The five volumes of texts are published separately in octavo format starting in 1831. The publication had spanned twelve years (1827-1838). Such a duration was not unusual at this time for ambitious books.
A census updated in 2006 lists 119 copies, 12 of them in private hands.
He is early trained in taxidermy and performs one of the earliest attempts of bird ringing. His method is unprecedented. He kills his specimen with a shotgun and straightens it in a natural pose with a wire. Then he draws it life size, often with its female or its prey. He never draws from a stuffed bird.
Audubon goes bankrupt in 1819 and moves to Louisiana. Against the advice of his friends but with the support of his wife, he decides to publish his work. American learned societies repel this rustic man who had ridiculed the drawings by the ornithologist Alexander Wilson. In 1826, right in the romantic period, he arrives in England with his collection of watercolors.
The work to be done is colossal. He wants to maintain the 97 x 66 cm format of his drawing sheets. The plates should be colored one by one by hand. The only solution is the sale by subscription. The price will be two guineas per part of five plates.
This double elephant folio size is the largest format in period for an illustrated book : 100 x 67 cm. The gigantic size is matching the goal that John James Audubon managed for the great work of his life : he wanted all his birds being displayed in their natural habitat in life size, even by curving for that purpose in an elegant arabesque the neck of the flamingo.
No book has ever been printed in such a big size. He finds in Edinburgh in 1827 a printer, Lizars, to carry out the work. A first set of 10 plates, numbered from I to X, is prepared. There will be no additional part by Lizars, following a strike of the colorists. The business is now entrusted to Robert Havell Jr in London, until the 435th and final plate in 1838. A skilled engraver and printer unmatched in the aquatint, Havell manages to further improve the images.
The five volumes of texts are published separately in octavo format starting in 1831. The publication had spanned twelve years (1827-1838). Such a duration was not unusual at this time for ambitious books.
A census updated in 2006 lists 119 copies, 12 of them in private hands.
subscription copy
2010 SOLD for £ 7.3M by Sotheby's
The eleventh subscriber in Audubon's ledger for the Birds of America was a paleobotanist from Edinburgh who was convinced of the value of the project during a wine party with the author.
The colors of that copy had remained remarkably fresh. In its original binding, it was sold for £ 7.3M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Sotheby's on December 7, 2010, lot 50.
The colors of that copy had remained remarkably fresh. In its original binding, it was sold for £ 7.3M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Sotheby's on December 7, 2010, lot 50.
subscription copy
2000 SOLD for $ 8.8M by Christie's
A copy from the original deliveries by subscription of The Birds of America was sold for $ 8.8M from a lower estimate of $ 3M by Christie's on March 10, 2000, lot 39. Its colors are remarkably fresh.
subscription copy
2019 SOLD for $ 6.6M by Sotheby's
A complete set of the Birds of America was sold by Sotheby's for £ 1.76M on June 21, 1990 and for $ 6.6M on December 18, 2019, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. It is in very good condition despite the obscuring of some captions by the binding.
It was formed for the subscription of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, received by Audubon in April 1827. All ten first plates are engraved by Lizars without the later retouching by Havell.
It was formed for the subscription of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, received by Audubon in April 1827. All ten first plates are engraved by Lizars without the later retouching by Havell.
subscription copy
1992 SOLD for $ 4.1M by Christie's
The subscription by the University of Edinburgh was taken up as early as December 1826 and recorded as number 9 in Audubon's final list. The binding has been made upon completion in four volumes by bird families instead of the usual chronological sequence of the plates. All ten first plates are engraved by Lizars without the later retouching by Havell.
This example was sold for $ 4.1M by Christie’s on April 24, 1992, lot 2. The colors are vivid with nearly no evidence of handling. The first text volume is the copyright deposit copy.
This example was sold for $ 4.1M by Christie’s on April 24, 1992, lot 2. The colors are vivid with nearly no evidence of handling. The first text volume is the copyright deposit copy.
1989 SOLD for $ 3.96M by Sotheby's
The exceptionally fine copy in the H. Bradley Martin collection was sold for $ 3.96M by Sotheby's on June 6, 1989.
subscriber copy
2014 SOLD for $ 3.5M by Sotheby's
The copy that belonged since 1933 to the Indiana Historical Society was sold for $ 3.5M by Sotheby's on April 24, 2014, lot 101. All ten first plates are engraved by Lizars without the later retouching by Havell. The original subscriber was the York Subscription Library in England.
It exhibits many condition problems after being kept on open stacks in the public area of a library for decades. However the sheets have all been backed with linen.
It exhibits many condition problems after being kept on open stacks in the public area of a library for decades. However the sheets have all been backed with linen.
1984 SOLD for £ 1M by Sotheby's
A fine copy in a rather uninspired binding was sold for £ 1M by Sotheby's on February 1, 2004. It had formerly been on loan to the Smithsonian Institute from the National Academy of Sciences.
1832 loose sheets
2005 SOLD for $ 5.6M by Christie's
A subscription was ordered in 1832 as loose sheets by members of the recently incorporated Providence Athenaeum for the purpose of exhibition. The first exhibition was not profitable and the ownership was transferred in 1834 to the organization. The supply of the parts was not interrupted.
The set was later bound. A linen backing performed in 1929 started creating a deterioration by its glue. The plates were de-lined, dis-bound and slightly trimmed in the 1990s.
The full set was sold for $ 5.6M by Christie's on December 15, 2005, lot 1. No volume of text was included.
The set was later bound. A linen backing performed in 1929 started creating a deterioration by its glue. The plates were de-lined, dis-bound and slightly trimmed in the 1990s.
The full set was sold for $ 5.6M by Christie's on December 15, 2005, lot 1. No volume of text was included.
assembled in 1838
2018 SOLD for $ 9.7M by Christie's
At the end of the operation, Audubon's list has inscribed 161 subscribers. Its printers, Lizars and Havell, had planned it slightly wider, and it is likely that a few remaining copies have been assembled in volumes in 1838 for new customers while retaining the chronological order of publication.
The copy from the library of the Dukes of Portland is probably one of those assembled without subscription, and it remained in exceptionally fine condition. It is complete of its four volumes of plates and five octavo volumes of texts.
It may be considered like an original edition by the bibliophiles as most of the first plates are in first state, as evidenced by watermarks and through the variants in the legends. All the first ten plates are in the Lizars edition before a retouching by Havell.
It was sold by Christie's for $ 7.9M on January 20, 2012, lot 1, and for $ 9.7M on June 14, 2018, lot 1, as a charity to benefit the conservation of the natural environment.
The copy from the library of the Dukes of Portland is probably one of those assembled without subscription, and it remained in exceptionally fine condition. It is complete of its four volumes of plates and five octavo volumes of texts.
It may be considered like an original edition by the bibliophiles as most of the first plates are in first state, as evidenced by watermarks and through the variants in the legends. All the first ten plates are in the Lizars edition before a retouching by Havell.
It was sold by Christie's for $ 7.9M on January 20, 2012, lot 1, and for $ 9.7M on June 14, 2018, lot 1, as a charity to benefit the conservation of the natural environment.
The Portland #Audubon sold @ChristiesBKS yesterday for $9.65m (£7.3m) https://t.co/pJYO1dvSvR pic.twitter.com/cg87wWs7kI
— Liam Sims (@liamsims) June 15, 2018
LA friends, this weekend is your chance to see the monumental Portland Audubon up close and personal! Visit our Los Angeles galleries 26-28 April, 10am-6pm. More info here: https://t.co/0nZ4p13E2v pic.twitter.com/aYaQlTbrF5
— Christie's Books (@ChristiesBKS) April 25, 2018
1838
volumes I-III
1997 SOLD for $ 1.7M by Christie's
The Young Men's Association of the City of Buffalo acquired an exemple prior to February 1838.
It was sold for $ 1.7M from a lower estimate of $ 600K by Christie's on April 21, 1997, lot 5.
It includes the plates 1 to 300, 141 of them being without damage. The fourth and last volume of plates is missing. The bindings are broken.
It was sold for $ 1.7M from a lower estimate of $ 600K by Christie's on April 21, 1997, lot 5.
It includes the plates 1 to 300, 141 of them being without damage. The fourth and last volume of plates is missing. The bindings are broken.
