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AUDUBON, John James, & John Bachman.
The Quadrupeds of North America.
Final edition. Having made his reputation with "The Birds of America", Audubon began an equally imposing project "The Quadrupeds of North America". Audubon travelled the entirety of North America, including British and Russian territories, the USA and parts of Mexico collecting specimens to use as models for his paintings, his ambition being to paint every North American species. From the perspective of the Quadrupeds his career unfolds with new fascination, leaving a fresh impression of his genius. John Bachman, Audubon's long-time collaborator, said of the Quadrupeds: "They are the most beautiful and perfect specimens of the art. I doubt whether there is anything in the world of natural history like them, I do not believe that there is any man living that can equal them" (Ford 1951). Audubon's Quadrupeds "is a breathtaking accomplishment ... the most naturalistic depiction of American mammals ever done" (Legacies of Genius 128). The work first appeared in three folio volumes from 1845-8. In order to reach a wider audience, the Audubons then prepared this edition in octavo, which was issued in 31 parts and then bound volumes between 1849 and 1854. They referred to it as a "miniature" of the grand folio edition.
3 volumes, octavo. Publisher's deluxe binding of brown full morocco, blind stamped decoration to spines, titles to spines gilt, blind stamped rules and decoration to boards, inner dentelles gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Illustrated with 155 hand-finished lithographic plates. Slight rubbing to binding, but a fine clean set.
