The Birds of Australia. (Complete set)

A$750,000 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Limited edition

London : printed by Richard and John Taylor for the author, 1848. Seven volumes, imperial folio, finely bound by Sotheran and Co. in full green crushed morocco over boards, elaborate gilt panels and rules, spine in compartments with raised bands, lettered and tooled in gilt (bindings with some light edge rubbing and scuffs); all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, bookplate of Sir Edward Charles Stirling to front pastedowns; Vol. I pp. [vi Title leaf, Dedication leaf, List of Subscribers]; [xii General Index]; [v] xii (Preface); xiii cii (Introduction); [xiv Table of the Range of Distribution of the Species]; [ii List of Plates]; the subsequent volumes with a Title Leaf and List of Plates; containing a total of 600 stone lithographs printed by Hullmandel, coloured by hand, each with tissue guard and an accompanying leaf of descriptive letterpress text. Together with: The Birds of Australia. Supplement . London : printed by Richard and John Taylor for the author, 1869. Imperial folio, in uniform binding, with 81 stone lithographs, coloured by hand; each with an accompanying leaf of descriptive letterpress text. Occasional light foxing, but a clean, vibrant set in a firm and solid binding, an exceptional work with 681 full-page hand-coloured lithographs, three of which are double-page. Printed in a projected edition of 250 copies (although Wantrup estimates between 220 230 were completed), a great number of which have been split for the exquisite original artworks contained within,

• Binding: Hardcover

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