The library: art and reference books for sale The books below mostly reproduce Audubon's works or are about Audubon's work, although there are a few listed on some of the other artists we carry (e.g., John Woodhouse Audubon, John Gould and Rex Brasher). We have multiple copies of some books; please contact us for condition information. If marked "SOLD" or you don't see it here, we still may be able to get it for you, so feel free to send us your book requests. Read our page on ordering for information on shipping costs, returns, and forms of payment. Audubon: Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of John James Audubon. Volume 87, No. 3, May 1985. A wonderful commemorative issue of Audubon, the magazine of the National Audubon Society, including a superb and beautifully-illustrated article by Mary Durant and Michael Harwood. This article is one of the best short biographies of Audubon available. With superb color illustrations, this article covers different ground than other bios (including the recent Rhodes bio). It also explains how many myths about Audubon got started. Also interesting to collectors will be an advertisement in the magazine for the complete Abbeville set reproducing the Havell Edition of The Birds of America. In excellent condition. $25. Available as an add-on for $10 (including shipping), November 1985 Audubon with an article by Michael Harwood about Audubon's 1842 journey to Missouri. WE ARE NOT SELLING THE NOVEMBER ISSUE BY ITSELF. AUDUBON, John James: The Art of Audubon, the Complete Birds and Mammals; New York: Times Books, 1979. This book reproduces a complete set of the octavo edition of The Birds of America (500 plates) and The Quadrupeds of North America (155 plates). SOLD. Please inquire. We may be able to obtain a copy of this or a similar item for you. AUDUBON, John James: Audubon's Birds of America - The Royal Octavo Edition; San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 1994. Introduction by Susanne M. Low. This book is the best available reproducing the 500 plates of the first octavo edition of The Birds of America. $95. The following three listings are different versions of the same book. AUDUBON, John James [PETERSON, Roger Tory & Virginia Marie Peterson]: Audubon's Birds of America - The Audubon Society's Baby Elephant Folio. New York: Artabras, 1981. This reprint edition includes the very interesting and well-illustrated introduction to ornithological art by Roger Tory Peterson. It includes Peterson's commentary on the 435 plates of the Double Elephant Folio, and presents them in phylogenetic order. A very heavy book with beautiful illustrations and interesting text. Old gift inscription and wear on jacket. This book weighs over 15 lbs. May incur extra shipping charges. $75. AUDUBON, John James [PETERSON, Roger Tory & Virginia Marie Peterson]: Audubon's Birds of America - The Audubon Society's Baby Elephant Folio. New York: Abbeville, 1981. Second printing. Handsomely bound in black half-leatherette with gilt titles on spine. No jacket as issued, box missing. Textured cloth-covered boards. Includes the very interesting and well-illustrated introduction to ornithological art by Roger Tory Peterson and Peterson's commentary on the 435 plates of the Double Elephant Folio. Audubon's prints presented in phylogenetic order. A very heavy coffee table book with beautiful illustrations and interesting text. In excellent condition. Weighs over 15 lbs, will incur extra shipping charges. SOLD AUDUBON, John James [PETERSON, Roger Tory & Virginia Marie Peterson]: Audubon's Birds of America - The Audubon Society's Baby Elephant Folio. Norwalk, Connecticut: Easton Press, 1981. Handsomely bound in green leather with raised bands on spine, gold lettering and illustration of the Horned Owl. No jacket as issued. Audubon's Double Elephant Folio presented in phylogenetic order with a well-illustrated introduction to ornithological art by Roger Tory Peterson and Peterson's commentary on the plates. Deluxe version of the Baby Elephant Folio including numerous foldouts. Some minor scratches to leather, one corner very slightly bumped, former owner's book plate and name/address stamps on front free end paper. In overall excellent condition. Weighs over 15 lbs, will incur extra shipping charges. $250. AUDUBON, John James: Blaugrund, Annette, and Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr. [eds.]; John James Audubon - The Watercolors for the Birds of America; New York: Villard Books, 1993. With essays by Stebbins, Blaugrund, Amy R. W. Meyers, and Reba Fishman Snyder. This hardcover book includes a fully-illustrated index of all of Audubon's paintings, several interesting articles about Audubon's life and technique, and numerous black-and-white and full-page color illustrations. This is a solid and well-bound book, unlike the Barnes & Noble reprint with the same contents. In excellent condition with minor yellowing of excellent dust jacket. Dust jacket protected with archival mylar cover. $90. AUDUBON, John James: Birds of America; San Diego: Laurel Glen, 1997 and others. The complete collection of 435 illustrations from the most famous bird book in the world. In our opinion, this is the single best book available for a complete set of reproductions of the Havell Edition (Double Elephant Folio). Put out in trade editions by several publishers with contents appearing to be identical. This is the only book to reproduce the text (plate/part numbers, artist/printer credits, titles and keys) that are an important part of Havell Edition and other natural history prints. $60 for a book without dust jacket (if available), $95 for book with dust jacket (if available), $300 for leather bound edition (if available). AUDUBON, John James: The Birds of America; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937. With an introduction and descriptive text by William Vogt. Very good/no jacket (as issued), 4to, t.e.g., 500 color plates, No. 2253 of 2500 copies. Original green cloth on spine with marbled paper covers. Bright gold gilt printing on the spine with green endpapers. Chipping Wear on edges and chipping of paper at corners of the covers, plus a few minor scrapes to marbled paper on covers. Contents excellent. This is the "deluxe" limited edition of this classic book, printed on all-rag paper. With an introduction and descriptive text by William Vogt. Reproduces the 435 plates of Audubon's double elephant folio (1827-38) with 65 additional plates of birds from the octavor edition of 1840-1844. This book should not be confused with the 1937 trade edition (with 500 plates), or with subsequent reissues (1942 and later) that included only the 435 plates of the folio (see listings below). This book was issued in slipcase, but the slipcase is missing in this instance. SOLD. AUDUBON, John James: The Birds of America; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937. With introduction and descriptive text by William Vogt. This edition includes 500 color plates, 435 from the Havell Edition and 65 from the Octavo Edition. SOLD. We do not intend to restock this book. AUDUBON, John James: The Birds of America; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1942 and later. With an introduction and descriptive text by William Vogt. Same as above but without the 65 plates from the octavo edition. We have two copies of this classic in stock, both from the mid-1970s. One is very good except for a (very charming) gift inscription; it has a fair to poor dust jacket with several tears and losses. The other is very good with some yellowing and toning of pages, with fair to poor dust jacket including creases, tears and foxing. $20 each. This book was reprinted many times in this format by Macmillan from 1942 to 1985. The basic contents did not change to the best of our knowledge. AUDUBON, John James: Audubon's Birds of North America - The Complete 500 Paintings; Secaucus, NJ: The Wellfleet Press, 1990. Introduction by Sheila Buff. This book reproduces the 500 plates of a later edition octavo set of The Birds of America. $50. AUDUBON, John James and BACHMAN, Rev. John: The Imperial Collection of Audubon Animals - The Quadrupeds of North America; New York: Hammond Incorporated, 1967. Edited and with new text by Victor H. Cahalane. A valuable reference that includes small-format reproductions of the folio plates of the Quadrupeds series, excerpts from the original text, and information on the animals depicted. Plates are grouped by animal type, not in the order published, and images do not include nomenclature. Amazingly, this is the only book available that reprints the folio edition quad plates in color. Generally very good to excellent copy with mylar dust jacket cover (attached to book using non-yellowed pressure-sensitive tape that is in excellent condition). Bookplate of former owner plus a small doodle in red marker on p. 84; otherwise in superior condition for this volume, much better than typical. $65. AUDUBON, John James and BACHMAN, Rev. John: The Quadrupeds of North America - Complete and Unabridged; Secaucus, NJ: The Wellfleet Press, 1990. A large format book reprinting of an octavo edition (including text) of Audubon and Bachman's Quadrupeds. Large format book. SOLD. Please inquire. We may be able to obtain a copy of this or a similar item for you. AUDUBON, John Woodhouse: The Drawings of John Woodhouse Audubon, Illustrating his Adventures through Mexico and California, 1849-1850; San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1957. Introduction and notes on the drawings by Carl Schaefer Dentzel. One of 400 copies, printed by the Grabhorn Press. Decorative paper boards, a beautifully produced book in excellent condition including the original prospectus. Reproduces the Gold Rush era sketchbook (including notes) of a talented and adventurous artist. After a harrowing journey through desert, John Woodhouse proved his fine leadership qualities, but failed to make his fortune in the gold fields. He returned home to New York hoping to publish these drawings, but the first part of the series was met with indifference, and the project was discontinued. The four original prints issued are exceedingly rare; we are fortunate to have this book to preserve these beautiful drawings. SOLD. Please inquire. We may be able to obtain a copy of this or a similar item for you. BOEHME, Sarah E.: John James Audubon in the West - The Last Expedition - Mammals of North America. New York and Cody WY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers in association with the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 2000. Four excellent essays on the Quadrupeds, by Sarah Boehme, Annette Blaugrund, Robert McCracken Peck, and Ron Tyler. The essays focus on Audubon's painting techniques, his 1843 journey up the Missouri River to paint and collect western mammals, his collaboration and friendship with co-author the Reverend John Bachman, and the publication of the Imperial Folio edition. Excellent condition. A wonderful reference book. $40. BRASHER, Rex: Birds and Trees of North America Comprising 875 Full-Color plates; 1094 Species and Sub-Species of Birds; 383 Species of Trees with an Explanatory Text By the Artist Edited and Annotated By Lisa McGraw. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 1961. Ledger-sized, in four volumes (no jackets as issued); leather spine w/ cloth. Overall excellent condition. These books are very heavy and will incur a shipping surcharge. $150. CHRISTIE'S: John James Audubon: The Birds of America; Auction of September 14 and 15, 1987. New York: Christie's. The property of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences (435 lots). Softbound with some bends in covers. Contents very good; illustrates in color or black-and-white 434 of the 435 plates. Includes prices realized list. SOLD FRIES, Waldemar H.: The Double Elephant Folio - The Story of Audubon's Birds of America; Chicago: American Library Association, 1973. A very clean copy in superior condition. NOT ex-library. An extraordinary book packed with interesting facts and historical details about the Havell Edition and Audubon. This book included the first modern census (since updated by Susanne Low) of surviving copies of the Double Elephant Folio. For Audubon fans, there is nothing quite like this book, often called "the Bible of Audubon scholars." See Pictures. SOLD. This description refers to the first edition -- this book was recently updated. How to order the reprint edition directly from the publisher. HERRICK, FRANCIS H.: Audubon the Naturalist - A History of his Life and Time, New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1917. In two volumes illustrated. Set of first edition of this classic and groundbreaking biography. Two volumes as issued, color of volumes mismatched. Frontispieces. Original blue cloth, top edges gilt. Well illustrated (including some color). We recommend the Dover reprint for a cheap read (lacking the color plates), but this is a lovely set for those who want the full experience. SOLD. Please inquire. We may be able to obtain a copy of this or a similar item for you. GODDU, Joseph: John James Audubon & Robert Havell, Jr.: Artist's Proofs for The Birds of America. New York: Hirschl & Adler Galleries, 2002. A short but well-illustrated and award-winning catalogue of an important exhibition. With wit and clarity, Goddu fills in the holes to explain the process by which Audubon and Havell went from great paintings to great prints. $40. GOULD, John: JOHN GOULD'S HUMMINGBIRDS. Secaucus, NJ: Wellfleet, 1990. Large volume reproducing the complete original edition including the 1861 supplement of Gould's most popular work. Originally published in several volumes between 1849-1861, this is the only reprint edition we know of. These stunning images are reproduced at 90 percent of full size; Gould's complete text is included as notes to the plates. Some minor flaws, but generally a very good dust jacket on a very good copy of a classic work -- 74pgs of text, 418 beautiful illustrations of hummingbirds. $125. LOW, Susanne M.: A Guide to Audubon's Birds of America; New Haven and New York: William Reese Company and Donald A. Heald, 2002. A valuable reference that updates the information from the previous version, and adds an interesting plate-by-plate discussion of the Bien Edition (appearing in book form for the first time). A must-have for any serious Audubon folio collector. This book is readily obtainable from the publishers. More information on this book. SOLD LOW, Susanne M.: An Index and Guide to Audubon's Birds of America - A Study of the Double-Elephant Folio of John James Audubon's Birds of America as Engraved by William H. Lizars and Robert Havell ; New York: Abbeville Press, 1988. Out of print. This book includes information on states, plate dimensions, and many other details about the Havell Edition. The newer edition of Ms. Low's work (described above) adds information on the Bien Edition and updates the book, but this older edition is a compact size and some find it handier for immediate information on the Havell Edition. $25. STEINER, Bill: Audubon Art Prints: A Collector's Guide to Every Edition; Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003. Hardcover. An important and comprehensive book for collectors, both old and new. Covers all the original editions plus many reprints.The hardcover has long been out of print and is very hard to find. We have a copy signed by author ("Best Wishes, Bill Steiner") and lightly scattered with notes of the previous owner. $85. TYLER, Ron: Audubon's Great National Work: The Royal Octavo Edition of The Birds of America; Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. First edition, very good condition with a very good dust jacket. Inscribed with previous owner's name; lightly and neatly annotated. This important book, currently out of print and very difficult to find, focuses on the successful popular edition of the Birds of America. Tyler traces the evolution of the series through subsequent printings, provides an account of the publication of the Imperial Folio quads and the Bien Edition, and also places Audubon in the context of American Romanticism. A compelling and valuable work, indispensable to anyone with a deep interest in Audubon. Our copy with owner name on free front end paper, lightly scattered with markings and annotations. $85.
Last updated 07.15.10 |
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