Beschreibung:

AUDUBON, John James and John BACHMAN. The Quadrupeds of North America . New York: [R. Craighead for] V. G. Audubon, 1854.
AUDUBON, John James and John BACHMAN. The Quadrupeds of North America . New York: [R. Craighead for] V. G. Audubon, 1854. 3 volumes, large 8vo (269 x 173 mm). Half-titles. 155 hand-colored lithographed plates by W.E. Hitchcock and R. Trembly after J.J. and John Wodehouse Audubon. (Plates generally clean and bright, some tissue guards renewed, occasional very pale offsetting of plates onto text.) Modern red crushed levant morocco, all edges gilt, by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. EARLY OCTAVO EDITION OF AUDUBON'S FINAL GREAT WORK. The Quadrupeds was first published in three folio volumes between 1845 and 1848, with 150 colored plates, supplemented in 1854 with an additional volume of text and 6 plates (see previous lots). The first octavo edition, issued in response to the success of a similar edition of The Birds of America , contains all of the original 150 plates, with 5 of the 6 supplemental plates, reduced by means of the camera lucida. It was prepared for the press and published by his sons, John W. and Victor, shortly after Audubon's death in January, 1851. Audubon, himself, because of declining health, was only able to sketch about half of the animals included in the final publication--the remainder being drawn by John W., with most of the scientific details in the text witten by Bachman. Initially both the folio and octavo editions were issued in parts. With the publication of the final part in 1854 the quartet of works as envisaged by Audubon was completed. Bennett, p.5; Nissen ZBI 163; Sabin 2638.