Birds.- Gould (John) The Birds of Great Britain, 5 vol., first edition

Birds.- Gould (John) The Birds of Great Britain, 5 vol., first edition, list of subscribers, 367 hand-coloured lithographed plates, most heightened with gum arabic, by Gould, H.C. Richter, Joseph Wolf and William Hart, some spotting and occasional offsetting, a couple of tiny nicks to fore-edge, bookplate of George, Lord Hylton to vol.1, contemporary green half morocco, spines gilt, [Ayer & Zimmer p.261; Fine Bird Books, p.78; Wood p.365; Nissen 372], folio,[1862]-73. *** Widely regarded as the greatest of all Biritsh bird books with such as Richard Bowdler Sharpe even commenting "Such beautiful illustrations...scarcely existed before and are not likely to be surpassed". This copy accompanied by Gould's An Introduction to the Birds of Great Britain, Printed for the author, 1873, a fine copy in the original red cloth and with a presentation inscription in Gould's hand to Hedworth Jolliffe (2nd Baron Hylton), one of the subsribers and father of George, whose bookplate is in the main set. Without doubt therefore this copy can be described as an original subscriber's copy.

Estimate:£35,000

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