Beytrag zur Naturgeschichte der Vogel.

£150,000 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

luxurious copy with original watercolours Unique copy of one of the rarest works of zoological book illustration, from the library of the banker, art collector, and patron Moritz von Fries (1777-1826), for whom the set was in all likelihood specially produced. Fries was considered without doubt the richest man in the Habsburg Empire in the years surrounding 1800. The splendid engraved plates were elaborately illuminated, each with rich botanical and architectural decoration extending beyond the engraved matter. In addition, the copy has been enhanced by the addition of 15 original watercolours (all in vols. V and VI), whereas the regular copies contain only prints. The only verifiable complete copies, in the Austrian National Library (ÖNB) and the Bavarian State Library (BSB), show less splendid decoration, with only three watercolours each in the respective volumes and no watercolour borders whatsoever. The Fideicommissum collection in the ÖNB holds 5 illuminated volumes of Spalowsky's work, with volume V containing the highest number of watercolours among all copies available for comparison. As the final volume is lacking in the Fideicommissum collection, the eight watercolours and splendid framings of vol. VI of Fries's copy are probably unique. Since 1932, the only copies traceable at auction were those at Ketterer, 2017 (vols I-IV) and Christie's, 2012 (vols I-III). The volumes sold in 2017, along with the ones at the ÖNB and BSB, belong to the normal edition without the

• Binding: Hardcover

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