Beschreibung:

JOHN GOULD (1804-1881) and RICHARD BOWDLER SHARPE (1847-1909) The Birds of Asia. London: Taylor and Francis for the Author, January 1850 - October 1883. 7 volumes in 35 original parts, broadsheet (560 x 385mm). 3pp. subscribers' list. 530 fine hand-coloured lithographic plates, most heightened with gum-arabic, by Gould, Henry Constantine Richter, William Hart and Joseph Wolf printed by Hullmandel & Walton, Walter or Walter & Cohn. (Light spotting to about 40 plates, tail of pheasant [or Cheer ] in part XXVII truncated as usual.) Original purple moiré cloth-backed cream paper-covered boards, each upper cover with printed title including a wood-engraved vignette, a list of the birds contained within and the date of publication (some light soiling, particularly to the covers of parts I, XIII, XX and XXX, occasional small tears to spines, and slight bumping to extremities and corners), all contained within seven morocco-backed green cloth boxes, the 'spines' elaborately decorated in gilt with red calf onlays and lettering-pieces. A VERY FINE COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION, IN THE VERY RARE ORIGINAL PARTS. The intended geographical range of the work was enourmous, and very much in keeping with the seemingly limitless self-belief of the 19th-century's best known ornithologist. As Bowdler Sharpe writes in his excellent introduction (published in the final part), the work covers "Species from Palestine to the westward, and from the Moluccas to the east." Unsurprisingly, the subjects of the plates are the amongst the most varied of Gould's folios including trogons, kingfishers, sunbirds, woodpeckers, partridges, parrots, pittas and pheasants. The three final parts were completed by Sharpe after Gould's death in 1881. The descriptions by Sharpe are identified by his initials, those not bearing his initials were presumably printed from Gould's notes. Hart completed the lithographs from Gould's sketches. Anker 178; Fine Bird Books p.78; Nissen IVB 368; Sauer 17; Wood p.365; Zimmer pp.258-9. (7)