Silver $26.42 Gold $2300.50 Platinum $954.00 Palladium $930.00 Copper $0.28 Active: 457
arrow_back Back homeBook Price Guide searchSearch

THE BIRDS OF AMERICA, FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS John James Audubon (1827) First Edition

4 volumes, "double-elephant" broadsheets (979/975 x 650/632 mm). Engraved title-page in each volume and 435 hand-colored, etched and aquatint plates, by William H. Lizars (Edinburgh), Robert Havell, Sr. and Robert Havell, Jr. (London), after Audubon's original life-size watercolor drawings, on J. Whatman and J. Whatman Turkey Mill paper with watermarks dated 1827-1838.

First state of the title in volume I, containing 13 lines (before the addition of two extra lines listing Audubon's memberships to learned societies and without volume number). The plates in this set are arranged in order of publication (not by families) and numbered I-X, 11-14, XV, 16-100, CI-CCCCXXXV. Thus, most of the first 100 plates (Vol. I) are early states with Arabic numbering. All of the first ten plates are engraved by William Home Lizars alone, before retouching by R. Havell, Jr.

Two paper stocks were used throughout the production, both bearing the name of the English paper-maker James Whatman. William Balston, the apprentice and successor of the younger James Whatman, shared the rights to the old Whatman company and used the watermark "J Whatman"; the Hollingsworth family had the rights to the watermark "J Whatman Turkey Mill." The sheet size of the paper is known as "double elephant," measuring 39 x 29 inches, approximately the same size of the drawing paper that bears the same name.

Size: 993 x 655 mm (39 1/8 x 25 inches). Full contemporary English crimson morocco, richly gilt, covers paneled a wide decorative roll-tooled outer border surrounding a central panel with a roll-tooled border, a stylized scallop corner-piece built up of smaller tools at each outer corner of central panel, spines in nine compartments with eight double-raised bands, two with onlaid green morocco lettering pieces, the others with a repeated richly gilt panel, board edges and turn-ins elaborately gilt, marbled paper pastedowns and free endpapers, blank flyleaves watermarked "J. Whatman 1838," stamp-signed "J. Mackenzie" on free endpapers of plate volumes (Vol. 3 with a tiny stain on fore-edge, some slight areas of darker discoloration partially due to orientation of the leather hides, some minor surface wear and abrasions skillfully restored and refurbished by James & Stuart Brockman Ltd.); plate volumes in four velvet-lined quarter leather buckram over wooden board folding boxes.

As a subscription publication, The Birds of America was issued over a decade according to demand, and the plates bear a range of imprints, which varies from set to set. We know that Robert senior died in 1832 and that Robert junior then styled himself R. Havell. Fries cites the variants in the names on the first ten plates, which are likely to cause the most confusion as they were the ones engraved by Lizars. They were handed over to the Havells as soon as they had been engaged for the project, and the imprint was amended to reflect this. The earliest states of plate I have "Engraved by W.H. Lizars Edinr.", while later states have "Retouched by R. Havell Junr." Although Havell junior engraved all the plates after number 10, there is no evidence to support a conclusion from the final variants of plates III, IV, V and X, that Havell completely re-engraved the plates, despite the removal of Lizars name from the imprint. Some plates bear no distinction between the senior and junior Havells. Others mention Lizars engraving, but Havell senior printing and coloring (e.g. plate VII), or Robert junior retouching and Robert senior printing and coloring (see Appendix B for imprints on the plates in the present set).


EDITION SIZE AND RARITY

Although the final list of subscribers to The Birds of America totaled 161, a somewhat greater number of sets certainly was produced. Bibliographers of the double-elephant folio have calculated the edition size at approximately 200 completed copies. In her updating of Fries' 1973 census, Susanne Low writes, "119 complete copies are known to exist in the world today. 108 are in institutions such as universities, libraries, museums, athenaeums, societies, and the like. 11 are in private hands."

Since 1973, 24 copies of the book have been sold at auction. Of these, 14 have been sold on a sheet-by-sheet basis, many of these lacking plates, and are dispersed (including the Earl of Carnarvon copy comprising 159 plates only), and another incomplete set which lacked volume IV was sold together but presumably is now dispersed (the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences copy). At the present time, 107 copies remain in institutions and 13 are in private hands (which includes the Fox-Bute copy, previously unaccounted for by Fries and Low).


PROVENANCE

Presumably purchased sometime after 1838 as a bound complete set, by William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland PC, FRS, FSA (24 June 1768 - 27 March 1854), styled Marquess of Titchfield until 1809. He was a British politician who served in various positions in the governments of George Canning and Lord Goderich. Portland was the eldest son of Prime Minister William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland and Lady Dorothy, daughter of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire and Charlotte Boyle, Baroness Clifford. He was the elder brother of Lord William Bentinck and Lord Charles Bentinck. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford.

Each volume in this set contains the armorial bookplate of the 6th Duke of Portland. However, according to the keepers at Welbeck, there seems to be little consistency of the "bookplating" in the library. There are many volumes presently in the library without any bookplate at all, as well as many books acquired by the 4th Duke with no earlier bookplate than the 6th Duke's on their pastedowns. Other books in the library that are known to have been purchased by the 4th Duke show his serious interest in natural history, and therefore may indicate he was the original purchaser of this Audubon set soon after publication in 1838 and prior to his death in 1854. It is possibly, however, that this set may also have been purchased later by the 5th or 6th Dukes of Portland, the son of the 4th Duke and his cousin, respectively.

William John Cavendish Cavendish-Scott-Bentick, 5th Duke of Portland (1800-1879), styled Lord William Cavendish-Scott-Bentick before 1824 and Marquess of Titchfield between 1824 and 1854, was a British aristocratic eccentric who preferred to live in seclusion. On 27 March 1854 he succeeded his father as 5th Duke of Portland. He had an underground maze excavated under his estate at Welbeck Abbey, near Clumber Park in North Nottinghamshire, where he kept his library.

William John Arthur Charles James Cavendish-Bentick, 6th Duke of Portland (1857-1943), known as William Cavendish-Bentick until 1879, was a British landowner, courtier and Conservative politician. He notably served as Master of the Horse between 1886 and 1892 and again between 1895 and 1905. He inherited the Cavendish-Bentick estates, based around Welbeck Abbey, from his cousin William Cavendish-Scott-Bentick, 5th Duke of Portland, in 1879.
310349
Viewed: May 04, 2024
Updated: Dec 30, 2023
Priced: Jul 13, 2023
attach_money

What's It Worth?
1
What's It Worth
attach_money

What's It Worth

check_circle_outline
What's It Worth

Price Vary Widely

Prices vary widely depending on many factors, including the condition or grade of your item, market demand, and economic conditions.

Why iGuide?

Our network of experts have the knowledge you need. We compile our prices by analyzing gigabytes of data every week. Then we curate this real market data into our price reports. When you invest in an iGuide Price Report you level the playing field by arming yourself with accurate pricing. No more blunders. You become an Instant Expert. Get started now!

2
Buy Now
shopping_cart

Buy Now

check_circle_outline
Buy Now

What you get:

An iGuide specialist will meticulously evaluate your item and conduct thorough market analysis. Your resulting pricing report constitutes an informal appraisal, distinct from an insurance valuation. Should you require an insurance appraisal, we invite you to make an inquiry. The report will furnish the item's estimated retail value at the moment of appraisal and, where applicable, its estimated wholesale value. Additionally, it will encompass insights into current market conditions and offer guidance on potential sales avenues.

All for only $5.00

3
Confirm Your Item
check_circle

Confirm Your Item

check_circle_outline
Confirm Your Item

Please confirm the item you wish to have appraised:

Description:

THE BIRDS OF AMERICA, FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS John James Audubon (1827) First Edition

I have something else
4
Describe Your Item
check_circle

Describe Your Item

check_circle_outline
Describe Your Item
edit

Please add any additional details about your item. Describe the condition — is it like new, or heavily worn? Are there any tiny markings or text? Any differences between your item and the item confirmed in the prior step? PHOTOS: if we need photos we will contact you.

5
Payment
payments

Payment

check_circle_outline
Payment
edit

Appraisal Report → $5.00

6
Name
contacts

Name

check_circle_outline
Name
edit
7
Email
email

Email

check_circle_outline
Email
edit
8
Confirmation
verified

Confirmation

check_circle_outline
Confirmation
edit
Let's confirm your email before we continue. This makes your account more secure by letting us know you are the owner of this email address.
IMPORTANT CHECK! We just sent you an email with a confirmation number. Check your email now and input that number below. If you did not receive the email, check your JUNK or SPAM folder.

Verify it's you

Type the numbers into the boxes below
Wrong verification code.
9
Mobile phone
smartphone

Mobile phone

check_circle_outline
Mobile phone
edit

We can send you a text via SMS text message if you like.

10
Confirmation
verified

Confirmation

check_circle_outline
Confirmation
edit
IMPORTANT CHECK! We just sent you a text message. It has your confirmation number. Input that number in the boxes below. If you did not receive the text, click the RESEND button when it appears.

Verify it's you

Type the numbers into the boxes below
Wrong verification code.
11
Password
lock

Password

check_circle_outline
Password
edit
If you would like to save your appraisal report for later retrieval, create your free iGuide account — have all your reports in the cloud.
12
Success!
check_circle

Success!

check_circle_outline
Success!

Welcome aboard!

We will notify you by email when your price report is ready.

What would you like to do next?

school

Other Questions?
Got a question? ASK NOW
1
How can I help?
Step 1
check_circle_outline
How can I help?
edit

How can we help?

Type your question in the boxes below,

2
Your Contact Info
Step 2
check_circle_outline
Your Contact Info
edit

Your Contact Info

3
Your Mobile Number
Step 3
check_circle_outline
Your Mobile Number
edit

Your Mobile Number

We may contact you via text message. If you don't have a cellphone, click the SKIP button.

4
Success!
Step 4
check_circle_outline
Message received!

Message received!

We have received your message. We will reply as soon as possible. Sometimes we get swamped, so please be patient.
close

Working...