Birds of Australia. Vol. 1-7 [with] Supplement

Description:

The Hill House edition of The Birds of Australia, complete in 8 volumes, is one of the finest facsimile reproductions ever produced of a nineteenth-century natural history masterpiece. Published in Melbourne by Hill House between 1989 and 1990, it reproduced John Gould's monumental seven-volume Birds of Australia together with the Supplement, at the original imperial folio size. It was printed from the British Museum (Natural History) copy using high-quality offset lithography on acid-free paper and hand-bound in green Japanese Saifu cloth with gilt gold Crown Cipher of the British Museum (Natural History) to the front boards. It enables collectors and institutions to appreciate one of the greatest ornithological works ever published in a form that closely reflects the appearance and grandeur of the original publication.

Although initial volumes of the facsimiles were printed in more than 500 copies, later facsimile volumes did not exceed 300 copies. Complete sets are scarce and highly desirable.

John Gould's original Birds of Australia (1840-1848) was the first comprehensive account of the Australian avifauna. Based on Gould's expedition to Australia in 1838-1840, it described 681 species, of which more than 320 were new to science. The work contained 680 magnificent hand-coloured lithographic plates, produced principally by Elizabeth Gould (the first 84 plates) and, after her death, by Henry Constantine Richter, with one plate by Edward Lear. A separate Supplement, completed in 1869, added 81 further plates illustrating species discovered after publication of the original seven volumes.

Condition

8 vols, imperial folio (550x370mm), orig. cloth, gilt. Fine set. A few spines slightly faded.