GOULD, John (1804-1881). The Birds of Great Britain . London: Taylor and Francis for the Author, [1862]-1873. 5 volumes, large 2° (540 x 360mm). 5-page subscribers' list, 367 hand-coloured lithographic plates, most heightened with gum-arabic, by Gould, Henry Constantine Richter, Joseph Wolf and William Hart most lithographed by Richter and Hart, printed by Walter or Walter & Cohn, 2 wood-engraved illustrations, gilt edges. (Some spotting, heaviest on endpapers and mainly affecting text leaves, occasional light spotting to plates, limited to sky areas, occasional light offsetting onto text leaves.) Contemporary hard-grained green morocco gilt by Charles Tuckett, covers with broad borders of oak-leaf and acorn rolls enclosed in floral and foliate rolls between rules, outer borders of broad and narrow fillets, gilt turn-ins, spine with double raised bands, lettered and decorated with acanthus and floral tools, pale lemon endpapers, gilt edges (a little scuffed or rubbed, occasionally causing minor superficial loss, short splits at spine ends of vols. II and IV, spines slightly faded). FIRST EDITION OF 'THE MOST SUMPTUOUS AND COSTLY OF BRITISH BIRD BOOKS (Mullens and Swann), IN A FINE MOROCCO BINDING BY TUCKETT, BINDER TO THE QUEEN. Gould was especially proud of this work, and it 'was seen - perhaps partly because its subject was British, as the culmination of [his]... genius' (Isabella Tree. The Ruling Passion of Gould . London: 1991, p.207). The text is more extensive and the illustrations depict many more chicks, nests, and eggs than Gould's other works: 'there was an opportunity of greatly enriching the work by giving figures of the young of many of the species of various genera -- a thing hitherto almost entirely neglected by authors' (Gould, writing in the preface to the present work). Wolf, who drew 57 of the plates and accompanied Gould on an ornithological tour of Scandinavia in 1856, was responsible for persuading Gould and Richter to adopt a livelier treatment of the subject matter. It is likely that this copy was a subscriber's copy, given the deluxe binding. Ramsden cites two British Museum binders by the name of Charles Tuckett - the present copy must have been the work of the younger Charles, binder to the museum from 1865-75. He notes that one or both occasionally signed as 'Binder to the Queen'. Fine Bird Books (1990) p.102; Nissen IVB 372; Sauer 23; Wood p.365; Zimmer p.261. (5)
GOULD, John (1804-1881). The Birds of Great Britain . London: Taylor and Francis for the Author, [1862]-1873. 5 volumes, large 2° (540 x 360mm). 5-page subscribers' list, 367 hand-coloured lithographic plates, most heightened with gum-arabic, by Gould, Henry Constantine Richter, Joseph Wolf and William Hart most lithographed by Richter and Hart, printed by Walter or Walter & Cohn, 2 wood-engraved illustrations, gilt edges. (Some spotting, heaviest on endpapers and mainly affecting text leaves, occasional light spotting to plates, limited to sky areas, occasional light offsetting onto text leaves.) Contemporary hard-grained green morocco gilt by Charles Tuckett, covers with broad borders of oak-leaf and acorn rolls enclosed in floral and foliate rolls between rules, outer borders of broad and narrow fillets, gilt turn-ins, spine with double raised bands, lettered and decorated with acanthus and floral tools, pale lemon endpapers, gilt edges (a little scuffed or rubbed, occasionally causing minor superficial loss, short splits at spine ends of vols. II and IV, spines slightly faded). FIRST EDITION OF 'THE MOST SUMPTUOUS AND COSTLY OF BRITISH BIRD BOOKS (Mullens and Swann), IN A FINE MOROCCO BINDING BY TUCKETT, BINDER TO THE QUEEN. Gould was especially proud of this work, and it 'was seen - perhaps partly because its subject was British, as the culmination of [his]... genius' (Isabella Tree. The Ruling Passion of Gould . London: 1991, p.207). The text is more extensive and the illustrations depict many more chicks, nests, and eggs than Gould's other works: 'there was an opportunity of greatly enriching the work by giving figures of the young of many of the species of various genera -- a thing hitherto almost entirely neglected by authors' (Gould, writing in the preface to the present work). Wolf, who drew 57 of the plates and accompanied Gould on an ornithological tour of Scandinavia in 1856, was responsible for persuading Gould and Richter to adopt a livelier treatment of the subject matter. It is likely that this copy was a subscriber's copy, given the deluxe binding. Ramsden cites two British Museum binders by the name of Charles Tuckett - the present copy must have been the work of the younger Charles, binder to the museum from 1865-75. He notes that one or both occasionally signed as 'Binder to the Queen'. Fine Bird Books (1990) p.102; Nissen IVB 372; Sauer 23; Wood p.365; Zimmer p.261. (5)
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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