Fine Books & Manuscripts

WILSON, Alexander. –– BONAPARTE, Charles Lucian, Prince. American Ornithology; or, Birds of The United States. Notes by William Jardine. London: Chatto and Windus, 1876. 3 volumes, 4to. Half–titles, engraved portrait frontispiece of Wilson in Volume I, 103 hand–colored plates engraved by W. H. Lizars after drawings by Wilson (plates evenly toned with age, some edge chipping to frontispiece, offsetting from plates to text). Modern green leather–backed red buckram to match the original publisher’s binding, top edges gilt (light intermittent foxing to text). Considered the first major scientific work published in the United States (1808–1814) and the most important publication on American ornithology before Audubon. This later edition, in its final state of Wilson’s American Ornithology, has the largest number of plates and is the first to appear with hand–colored chromolithographed plates. Reese, Stamped with a National Character 3 (see for first edition).