Birds of Great Britain by Gould, First Edition (14 results)

First edition hard back binding in publisher's original brick red and green paper covered boards. Small 8vo. 7¼'' x 5''. Contains 32 pp + one black and white portrait in text followed by 16 full-page colour plates. Ink message inside dated 1940, the boards have been laminated and in Very Good condition, no dust wrapper. Member of the P.B.F.A. KING PENGUIN (Series).

Hardcover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Octavo. 135 pages complete. List of subscribers at the rear, 10 pages, i.e. lacking final 2 leaves. New lemon-yellow endpapers. No names or inscriptions. A good copy.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. First. GOULD'S GREAT BRITAIN IN ORIGINAL PARTS -- WITH A SIGNED SUBSCRIBER'S RECEIPT -- THE PETERS-CALVERT SET. Twenty-five parts. First edition. London: Taylor and Francis for the author, August 1st 1862December 1st 1873. Folio (22" x 15 3/16", 557mm x 386mm). [Full collation available.] With 367 lithographed plates in toto, hand-colored and heightened with gum arabic, after Gould, Joseph Wolf, Henry Constantine Richter and William Hart. Bound in the publisher's green printed-paper-covered boards backed in green blocked cloth. All edges of the text-block untrimmed. Boards generally soiled (inksplotch to the front board of part II) and frayed at the extremities. The cloth-backing of pts. I, V, VI, XI, XII and XXV split and cracking; otherwise small splits at the heads and tails of a handful of volumes. Sporadic sunning to the spines. Scattered mild foxing, but the plates generally quite clean. Offsetting from a dozen or so plates, and a few splits. A totally unsophisticated set. Armorial bookplate of Robert Calvert to the front paste-down of each volume. Instructions to the binder tipped-in to the recto of the front paste-down of part XXV. Subscriber's receipt for (completed in ink manuscript) "W. Peters, Esq." dated London, "Dec 31" 18"69" and reflecting parts delivered "1866.67.68.69" To Part "9 to 16" of the Birds of Great Britain "£25.4.0" and signed as "Received Mar. 1. 1870/ John Gould" over an Inland Revenue one penny stamp. John Gould (1804-1881) conceived a massive project: to illustrate the world's birds in a regal format. He is best known for his multi-volume works on the birds of every continent but Africa. Following the success of his 1837 Birds of Europe and the [1840]-1869 Bird of Australia with its Supplement, Gould responded to popular demand for birds of the British Isles. The Birds of Great Britain was Gould's most popular of his large-format multi-volume ornithological works, with the greatest number of subscribers. Gould's challenge was to circumvent the conception of British birds as ordinary or unremarkable. He had to bring the birds that circled overhead in front of his readers' eyes with freshness and striking beauty. The complexity of the scenes grew, with tableaux of nests, chicks and eggs joining the usual modes of depiction. Gould wrote in the Preface that he "felt that 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; and I feel assured that this infantile age of birdlife will be of much interest." The text is longer than in any of his other works, and many of the illustrations were prepared from freshly-killed specimens. Wolf, who drew 57 of the plates, was responsible for persuading Gould and Richter to adopt a livelier treatment of the illustrations. William Peters (1807-1894) was raised at Betchworth Castle in Surrey, which was bought and renovated by his father Henry Peters, a banker. By the time of his subscription, Peters was resident at Ashfold in the borough of Crawley, (West) Sussex and a fellow of both the Royal Astronomical Society and of the Royal Geographical Society (FRAS, FRGS). Doubtless the set descended through his third daughter, Constance Maria Georgiana (great-great-grandmother to Queen Camilla), who married Archibald Motteux Calvert. The bookplate is that of her grandson Maj. Robert Henry Calvert (1912-1987). Acquired at Christie's London 6 June 2007, lot 21. Ayer/Zimmer p. 261; McGill/Wood, p. 365; Nissen, IVB 372; Sauer 23; Sitwell, Fine Bird Books p. 78.

Condition: Very Good. [12], cxl, [2], [68]; [4], [152]; [4], [140]; [4], [170]; [4], [172], 367 hand-col plates. . HB. 5 vols, imp. folio (547x352mm), 19th-century. full green morocco, raised bands, richly gilt to compartments, broad decorative gilt borders to covers, gilt tooling to turn-ins and edges of boards, aeg. One volume professionally rebacked preserving original spine, some rubbing, particularly to joints, with neat leather reinforcements to head/foot of several spines. A little foxing to endpapers and title pages, plates clean, but with a dark area (oxidation of pigment?) above the greenshank (Glottis canescens) with offsetting to this area from text on facing page. A very good set. Provenance: Bookplate Christopher Henry Beaumont Pease (1924-2005), 2nd Baron Wardington and of Lucy Anne Pease, his daughter. First edition. Fine hand-coloured lithographic plates from drawings by Gould, Joseph Wolf, H.C. Richter and W. Hart, mostly lithographed by Richter and Hart, some heightened with gum arabic. The work was originally issued in twenty-five parts and was well received. Gould stresses its difference from The Birds of Europe in the treatment of the illustrations, the inclusion of figures of young birds and nests, and the more extensive text.'Gould will always be remembered by the magnificent series of folio works bearing his name (one of which incidentally is the most sumptuous and costly of the British bird books), which are excelled in extent and beauty by the work of no one other ornithologist, past or present' (Mullens & Swann).'Such beautiful illustrations as those of the Birds of Great Britain scarcely existed before and are not likely to be surpassed' (R. Bowdler Sharpe).Fine Bird Books, p.78; Mullens & Swann p. 242; Nissen IVB 372; Sauer 23; Wood, p. 365; Zimmer, p. 261.

Decorative Cloth. Condition: Near Very Good. 1st Edition. Privately Printed by the Author, John Gould. Dedicated to the Right Hon. Rowland Viscount Hill, his friend of over 40 years. Period Red cloth binding with blind stamped Linear border and decoration on front & back and Gilt title on front. Presentation inscription from the Author on title page. No other inscriptions.135 p. pages + 14 page list of Subscribers and Prospectus on the Works on Ornitholgy by John Gould (4 pages). Note to reader and Preface folloiwed by Main text of135 pages. This volume was intended as an Augmnentation and General Summary for the Folio work. Some darkening to cloth on back, spine and around edges. Small closed tear to cloth at top right corner of spine. No inscriptions except the author's. Signed by Author(s).

Hard Cover. First Edition. (London: Printed for the Author by Taylor and Francis 1873). First UK Edition. SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR TO ONE OF THE SUBSCRIBERS. Publisher's red ribbed cloth boards with gilt lettering to the front board (spine appears to be partially restored)and blind-stamped to both the front and back boards. Pale yellow end-papers. 135 pages, followed by a 14 page list of subscribers, followed by a four page "Prospectus of the Works on Ornithology, etc. by John Gould, F.R.S." Inscribed by the author on the title page to subscriber: "Howard Saunders Esq., / with the/ kind regards / of the author / 6th October 1873." The gilt lettering to the front board is particularly bright. There is an attractive former owner's book-plate to the front paste-down of Robert Washington Oates. Overall a tight and clean VG+ copy. FIRST EDITION OF GOULD'S INTRODUCTION, issued separately from The Birds of Great Britain in octavo format "for the convenience of correction before printing it for the folio work" (p. [i]). Apart from the dedication and preface, the octavo Introduction includes a "general view of 'The Birds of Great Britain" (containing additional information obtained during the progress of the work and notices of those species which occur in the British Isles but are not specifically part of its avifauna). Gould concludes his note "To the Reader" in the present volume: "It should be borne in mind that this 'Introduction' is not intended in any way in substitution for the letterpress already published in the folio work, but rather in augmentation of what is there stated and as a general summary. Those who do not already possess the folio edition will not be able to dispense with it on the acquisition of the present volume, while, it is hoped, it will be found a useful supplement and index." Ayer/Zimmer 261; McGill/Wood 365 (mentions a portrait, not present in this nor in the Norman copy and probably inserted later); Nissen IVB 372 note; Norman 918; Sauer 26 The University of Glasgow, which owns a copy of Birds of Great Britain, describes John Gould as "the greatest figure in bird illustration after Audubon. No D/W. Uncommon. Photographs/scans available upon request. Signed by Author.

Hardcover. Condition: Near fine. First. First edition. London: Taylor and Francis for the Author, 1862-1873. Five volumes. Folio (21 ¾" x 14 ¾", 553mm x 375mm). With 367 hand-colored lithographed plates, most heightened with gum arabic, after John Gould, Joseph Wolf, H.C. Richter and William Hart. Printed by Walter or Walter & Cohn. Two wood-engraved text illustrations, dedication leaf, 5-page list of subscribers. Bound in contemporary half green morocco over green cloth, with triple gilt fillets at the edges of the morocco. On the spine, 6 raised bands. Triple gilt fillets top-and-bottom in the panels. Title gilt to the second panel, number gilt to the fourth panel. Marbled endpapers. All edges of the text-block gilt. Some rubbing at the extremities. With light occasional spotting, chiefly marginal, to the text and a flew plates. Title-page of vol. IV starting. End-papers foxed. Altogether near fine. With the bookplate of the California Academy of Sciences to the front paste-down of each volume. Ownership signature of A. Hamel 1896 (?) to the verso of the first free end-paper of each volume. Gould's most popular of his large-format multi-volume ornithological works, with the greatest number of subscribers. Even more than in his inaugural set, the Birds of Europe (completed 1837), Gould's challenge was to circumvent the conception of British birds as ordinary or unremarkable. He had to bring the birds that circled overhead in front of his readers' eyes with freshness and striking beauty. The complexity of the scenes grew, with tableaux of nests, chicks and eggs joining the usual modes of depiction. Gould wrote in the Preface that he "felt that 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; and I feel assured that this infantile age of birdlife will be of much interest." The text is longer than in any of his other works, and many of the illustrations were prepared from freshly-killed specimens. Wolf, who drew 57 of the plates, and was responsible for persuading Gould and Richter to adopt a livelier treatment of the illustrations. Ayer/Zimmer p. 261, Fine Bird Books p. 102, Mullens & Swann p. 242; Nissen IVB 372, Sauer 23, Wood p. 365.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 5 volumes. Folio (21 4/8 x 14 4/8 inches). 367 hand-colored lithographs after John Gould, Josef Wolf, and H.C. Richter. Contemporary green and half morocco gilt, raised bands on spine, marbled endpapers. Light spotting to introductory pages, spine and corners lightly scuffed. "The most popular of all his works is always likely to be Birds of Great Britain" ("Fine Bird Books") First edition. Often referred to as the most sumptuous and costly of all British bird books, the plates depict scenes with more sophisticated subjects than Gould's previous works, including nests, chicks and eggs: "I also felt that 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 author's, and I feel assured that this infantile age of birdlife will be of much interest for science." (Gould "Preface" to "Introduction", 1873). Initially employed as a taxidermist [he was known as the 'bird-stuffer'] by the Zoological Society, Gould's fascination with birds began in the "late 1820s [when] a collection of birds from the Himalayan mountains arrived at the Society's museum and Gould conceived the idea of publishing a volume of imperial folio sized hand-coloured lithographs of the eighty species, with figures of a hundred birds (A Century of Birds Hitherto Unfigured from the Himalaya Mountains, 1830-32). Gould's friend and mentor N. A. Vigors supplied the text. Elizabeth Gould made the drawings and transferred them to the large lithographic stones. Having failed to find a publisher, Gould undertook to publish the work himself; it appeared in twenty monthly parts, four plates to a part, and was completed ahead of schedule. "With this volume Gould initiated a format of publishing that he was to continue for the next fifty years, although for future works he was to write his own text. Eventually fifty imperial folio volumes were published on the birds of the world, except Africa, and on the mammals of Australia-he always had a number of works in progress at the same time. Several smaller volumes, the majority not illustrated, were published, and he also presented more than 300 scientific papers. "His hand-coloured lithographic plates, more than 3300 in total, are called 'Gould plates'. Although he did not paint the final illustrations, this description is largely correct: he was the collector (especially in Australia) or purchaser of the specimens, the taxonomist, the publisher, the agent, and the distributor of the parts or volumes. He never claimed he was the artist for these plates, but repeatedly wrote of the 'rough sketches' he made from which, with reference to the specimens, his artists painted the finished drawings. The design and natural arrangement of the birds on the plates was due to the genius of John Gould, and a Gould plate has a distinctive beauty and quality. His wife was his first artist. She was followed by Edward Lear, Henry Constantine Richter, William Matthew Hart, and Joseph Wolf" (Gordon C. Sauer for DNB). Anker p. 60; "Fine Bird Books"; Nissen 372; Sauer 23; Tree "The Ruling Passion of John Gould", p. 207; Wood p. 365; Zimmer p. 261. Catalogued by Kate Hunter. (L64F18D).

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 25 ORIGINAL PARTS, folio (22 1/8 x 15 1/4 in.; 56.2 x 38.7 cm). 367 exceptionally fine handcolored 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 and Cohn, 2 wood-engraved illustrations, part XXV with title-pages for volumes 1-5, 5-page list of subscribers, dedication leaf, preface, Introduction, list of plates for all 5 volumes, directions to the binder tipped in before front free endpaper; some minor spotting to the last plate of part VI and the first plate of parts XIII and XXV, very occasional isolated spots to other plates, occasional light mostly marginal spotting or foxing to text leaves, faint pigment offset from about 9 plates to accompanying text, bottom margin of Thrush plate in part IX bumped. Original pale green paper boards with wood-engraved vignette of a family of Grouse, dark green cloth spines; boards dust-soiled, some with age discoloration, ink splash on front cover of Part II, a few spines with splits or tears, spine cap of part XXV torn, corners and a few board edges bumped, a hinge or two slightly split. FIRST EDITION, AN EXTREMELY FINE, UNCUT COPY IN ORIGINAL PARTS. The parts were priced at three guineas each and contained 15 plates, except for part XXIV with 14 plates, and part XXV with the final 8 plates. The larger final part also contained the title-pages to each volume (I-V), dedication leaf, list of subscribers, preface, introduction, list of plates for each volume, and the binder's slip. As the work was so clearly intended for binding in five volumes, copies in original parts are scarce: in the past 50 years, only seven such sets have appeared at auction. "The most popular of all his works is always likely to be Birds of Great Britain" (Fine Bird Books), for which Gould found more subscribers than any of his other monographs, compelling him to increase the print run. In the preface Gould notes that some 280,000 plates had to be handcolored-given 367 plates per copy, about 750 copies were therefore produced. Often referred to as the most sumptuous and costly of all British bird books, the plates depict scenes with more sophisticated subjects than Gould's previous works by including nests, chicks, and eggs. In the preface Gould wrote that he "felt that 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; and I feel assured that this infantile age of birdlife will be of much interest for science." The text is longer than in any of his other works, and many of the illustrations were prepared from freshly killed specimens. Wolf, who drew 57 of the plates, had accompanied Gould on an ornithological tour of Scandinavia in 1856, and was responsible for persuading Gould and Richter to adopt a livelier treatment of the illustrations. Catalogued by E. R. Muller REFERENCES: Ayer/Zimmer p.261; Fine Bird Books p.78; McGill/Wood, p. 365; Nissen IVB 372; Sauer 23; Tree, A Ruling Passion, pp. 194-204 PROVENANCE: WITH THE ORIGINAL RECEIPT FOR THE PURCHASE OF PARTS 9 TO 16 OF THIS SET TO ORIGINAL SUBSCRIBER WILLIAM PETERS, FRAS, FRGS of Ashfold, Crawley, Sussex, for 25 pounds and 4 shillings, SIGNED BY JOHN GOULD ON 1 MARCH 1870; Robert Calvert (engraved armorial bookplate on the front pastedown of each part and his sale, Christie's London, 6 June 2007, lot 21) (L4F15 I-16 I). Signed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 5 volumes. Folio (21 4/8 x 14 4/8 inches). 5-page list of Subscribers. 367 EXCEPTIONALLY FINE hand-colored lithographs after John Gould, Josef Wolf, and H.C. Richter. FINE AND ATTRACTIVE contemporary full maroon morocco, by Riviere for Henry Sotheran, each cover with wide decorative gilt border of floral roll-tools, the Devonshire family cipher and coronet stamped in gilt at each corner, the spines in seven compartments with six raised bands, gilt-lettered in two, the others decorated with a profusion of small gilt tools, inner gilt dentelles, all edges gilt (spines very slightly faded, with discreet repairs at foot of joints, versos of endleaves a little spotted). Provenance: from the library of William Cavendish, seventh duke of Devonshire (1808 1891, Duke from 1858). "The most popular of all his works is always likely to be Birds of Great Britain" ("Fine Bird Books") First edition. The Duke of Devonshire was a keen supporter and patron of Gould, subscribing to all of the artist's works in turn and taking two sets of The Birds of Great Britain, the other of which remains at Chatsworth. The duke "never appeared in society in London, reserving his public life for more serious and uplifting pursuits, notably the support of higher education. He was the first chancellor of the University of London, from 1836 to 1856, and an important influence on its early development. He was chancellor of Cambridge University from 1862 until his death; he was chairman of the royal commission on scientific instruction and the advancement of science, which sat from 1871 to 1874; and as an earnest of his commitment to the cause, he provided for the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge in 1874. He was a considerable benefactor of Owens College, Manchester, and of the Yorkshire College of Science, Leeds; when these colleges became part of the new federal Victoria University in 1880 he was its first chancellor" (F. M. L. Thompson for DNB). Gould found more subscribers for this than any other of his other monographs, and boasted that he employed the services of "almost all the colourers in London". "Many of the public are quite unaware how the colouring of these large plates is accomplished; and not a few believe that they are produced by some mechanical process or by chromo-lithography. This, however, is not the case; every sky with its varied tints and every feather of each bird were coloured by hand; and when it is considered that nearly two hundred and eighty thousand illustrations in the present work have been so treated, it will most likely cause some astonishment to those who give the subject a thought" (Preface). Often referred to as the most sumptuous and costly of all British bird books, the plates depict scenes with more sophisticated subjects than Gould's previous works, including nests, chicks and eggs: "I also felt that 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 author's, and I feel assured that this infantile age of birdlife will be of much interest for science." (Gould "Preface" to "Introduction", 1873). Initially employed as a taxidermist [he was known as the 'bird-stuffer'] by the Zoological Society, Gould's fascination with birds began in the "late 1820s [when] a collection of birds from the Himalayan mountains arrived at the Society's museum and Gould conceived the idea of publishing a volume of imperial folio sized hand-coloured lithographs of the eighty species, with figures of a hundred birds (A Century of Birds Hitherto Unfigured from the Himalaya Mountains, 1830-32). Gould's friend and mentor N. A. Vigors supplied the text. Elizabeth Gould made the drawings and transferred them to the large lithographic stones. Having failed to find a publisher, Gould undertook to publish the work himself; it appeared in twenty monthly parts, four plates to a part, and was completed ahead of schedule. "With this volu.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 5 volumes. Folio (21 4/8 x 14 4/8 inches). 367 hand-colored lithographs after John Gould, Josef Wolf, and H.C. Richter (4 plates at end of volume IV with some spotting). Contemporary green morocco gilt, all edges gilt, by Bickers and Son. Provenance: 19th-century engraved bookplate of the Barons Egerton of Tatton on the front paste-down of each volume; 20th-century bookplate of C.J. Coldeway on the front paste-down of each volume. "The most popular of all his works is always likely to be Birds of Great Britain" ("Fine Bird Books") First edition. Often referred to as the most sumptuous and costly of all British bird books, the plates depict scenes with more sophisticated subjects than Gould's previous works, including nests, chicks and eggs: "I also felt that 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 author's, and I feel assured that this infantile age of birdlife will be of much interest for science." (Gould "Preface" to "Introduction", 1873). Initially employed as a taxidermist [he was known as the 'bird-stuffer'] by the Zoological Society, Gould's fascination with birds began in the "late 1820s [when] a collection of birds from the Himalayan mountains arrived at the Society's museum and Gould conceived the idea of publishing a volume of imperial folio sized hand-coloured lithographs of the eighty species, with figures of a hundred birds (A Century of Birds Hitherto Unfigured from the Himalaya Mountains, 1830-32). Gould's friend and mentor N. A. Vigors supplied the text. Elizabeth Gould made the drawings and transferred them to the large lithographic stones. Having failed to find a publisher, Gould undertook to publish the work himself; it appeared in twenty monthly parts, four plates to a part, and was completed ahead of schedule. "With this volume Gould initiated a format of publishing that he was to continue for the next fifty years, although for future works he was to write his own text. Eventually fifty imperial folio volumes were published on the birds of the world, except Africa, and on the mammals of Australia-he always had a number of works in progress at the same time. Several smaller volumes, the majority not illustrated, were published, and he also presented more than 300 scientific papers. "His hand-coloured lithographic plates, more than 3300 in total, are called 'Gould plates'. Although he did not paint the final illustrations, this description is largely correct: he was the collector (especially in Australia) or purchaser of the specimens, the taxonomist, the publisher, the agent, and the distributor of the parts or volumes. He never claimed he was the artist for these plates, but repeatedly wrote of the 'rough sketches' he made from which, with reference to the specimens, his artists painted the finished drawings. The design and natural arrangement of the birds on the plates was due to the genius of John Gould, and a Gould plate has a distinctive beauty and quality. His wife was his first artist. She was followed by Edward Lear, Henry Constantine Richter, William Matthew Hart, and Joseph Wolf" (Gordon C. Sauer for DNB). Anker p. 60; "Fine Bird Books"; Nissen 372; Sauer 23; Tree "The Ruling Passion of John Gould", p. 207; Wood p. 365; Zimmer p. 261. Catalogued by Kate Hunter.

Lithograph. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. 20 7/8" x 14 3/8" sheet size. Handcolored lithograph from "The Birds of Great Britain", five elephant folio sized volumes containing some 367 hand colored lithographs published over the course of 11 years, from 1862-1873. The lithographs are primarily from drawings made by John Gould though H.C. Richter is credited on this particular image also with the lithography handled by Mr. Hart as usual. A striking piece with unusually fine hand coloring in very good condition with the usual frazzling at the disbound edge and a very small spot here and there. Lovely, unfaded hand coloring.

First edition, a subscriber's copy, of "the most sumptuous and costly of the British bird books" (Mullens & Swann), the work of which Gould was most proud; Richard Bowdler Sharp, a close friend and curator of birds at the British Museum, declared that "such beautiful illustrations as those of the Birds of Great Britain scarcely existed before and are not likely to be surpassed". The work was issued in 25 parts and was well received. Gould's illustrations were all painstakingly coloured by hand, as he states in his preface: "Many of the public are quite unaware how the colouring of these large plates is accomplished; and not a few believe that they are produced by some mechanical process or by chromo-lithography. This, however, is not the case; every sky with its varied tints and every feather of each bird were coloured by hand; and when it is considered that nearly two hundred and eighty thousand illustrations in the present work have been so treated, it will most likely cause some astonishment to those who give the subject a thought". The lithographic stone used for the Snowy Owl plate (vol. I) broke at an early stage in the printing. Later printings of this plate show evidence of this, and the early issue, present here is more desirable. The finished work was seen, "perhaps partly because its subject was British, as the culmination of Gould's. genius" (Tree, p. 207). The text is more extensive, and the illustrations depict many more chicks, nests, and eggs, than in his other grand folios. "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" (preface). Wolf, who drew 57 of the plates and accompanied Gould on an ornithological tour of Scandinavia in 1856, persuaded Gould and Richter to adopt a livelier treatment of the subject. Provenance: (a) Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster (1795-1869), subscriber to two copies of the work, bookplates, presentation inscription in volume I dated 1876, to; (b) Thomas Merthyr Guest (1838-1904), bookplates; husband of; (c) Theodora Guest (1840-1924), youngest child of the Marquess and Marchioness of Westminster, autograph note about an avian specimen she sent to the Natural History Museum in margin of text opposite plate 82, volume IV. Together with an autograph note from Gould, on a separate piece of paper pasted to the front pastedown of volume I, to the Marchioness of Westminster and Theodora Guest, with a possible date of 1877. This is a splendid subscriber's copy, in the earliest and most attractive iteration of the classic green morocco binding by the firm of Tuckett. Their design was echoed by other binders in the years after Gould's death in 1881, when his extant plates continued to be hand-coloured and bound up by Zaehnsdorf for sale by Henry Sotheran's. Fine Bird Books, p. 102; Mullens & Swann, p. 240; Nissen IVB 371; Sauer 23; Wood, p. 365; Zimmer, p. 261. Isabella Tree, The Ruling Passion of John Gould, 1991. 5 vols, folio (542 x 348 mm). With 367 hand-coloured lithograph plates, many heightened with gum arabic, by Henry Constantine Richter and William Matthew Hart after Gould and Joseph Wolf, printed by Walter or Cohn. Contemporary dark green morocco by Tuckett (his stamp at foot of front free endpaper verso), spines with five pairs of raised bands, gilt lettered direct in second and third compartments, others richly gilt tooled with triple fillet panels enclosing oak leaves, acorns, and foliate lozenges, sides with concentric panels of fillets, scrolling foliate rolls and oak leaves and acorns, board edges with gilt triple fillets, richly gilt turn-ins, pale yellow coated endpapers trimmed with a blind foliate roll, gilt edges. Variable light spotting, mainly confined to vol. I and the title pages of all volumes, vol. IV pl. 32 tiny marginal nick, vol. IV pl. 33 tiny marginal crease, the occasional light mark: overall, very good.

London, Taylor and Francis by the Author, [1862] - 1873. 5 volumes. Folio (545 x 370mm). With 367 fine hand-coloured lithographed plates, many heightened with gum-arabic, after John Gould, Joseph Wolf, H.C. Richter and W. Hart. Contemporary green full morocco, richly gilt decorated spines in 6 compartments, sides with gilt borders, gilt edges. First edition. A fine and beautifully bound copy of the most splendid work on the birds of Great Britain."The most popular of all Gould's works is always likely to be the 'Birds of Great Britain'" (Fine Bird Books p. 29). The work had almost 500 subscribers and 'Gould was especially proud of this work on the birds of his native land. As a 'novelty' he included quite a few drawings with the figures of young birds. As would be expected, there were more subscribers for this set than any other.'(Sauer p. 74)."However, Gould's 'Birds of Great Britain', . did add a great deal to our knowledge of British birds, besides being a more complete set of pictures of our native birds than previously printed. Furthermore, for the first time we have a lot of chicks, eggs and nests depicted. This title is outstanding for the attention paid to the young of the species. Gould had reached high and low for specimens of the nestlings of rare species and their nests. Wherever possible, drawings were done from freshly killed specimens. The result is that this book has much more lively birds than in Gould's previous folios, and there is much more freedom in showing the birds in different attitudes. Gould did the sketches himself, Hart and Richter did the full-scale water-colours and then the two lithographers drew the patterns on the stone. The illustrations show Gould's work at his best and it demonstated the work of all his artists and lithographers except Lear and Mrs. Gould. Lord Lilford, when preparing a similar work, fifteen years later, wrote of Gould's book, 'For really beautiful and correct illustrations of British birds, you will find Gould's great work on that special subject in the library, but the books are so large that you will require a boy to help you carry them from the house' (Jackson pp. 51-52).Fine Bird Book p. 78; Nissen IVB, 372; Sauer 23.