John Gould
The birds of Great Britain, 1862-1873, 5 volumes, contemporary green morocco gilt
Found at
Sothebys,
London
The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven Part I, Lot 93
6. May - 18. May 2022
The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven Part I, Lot 93
6. May - 18. May 2022
Estimate: 30.000 - 35.000 GBP
Price realised: 37.800 GBP
Price realised: 37.800 GBP
Description
John Gould
The birds of Great Britain. London: by the author, 1862-1873
FIRST EDITION, 5 volumes, folio (547 x 352mm.), dedication leaf, list of subscribers, lists of plates, 367 hand-coloured lithographed plates from drawings by Gould, Joseph Wolf, H.C. Richter and W. Hart, mostly lithographed by Richter and Hart, contemporary green morocco gilt
GOULD'S MOST SUBSCRIBED WORK.
"Such beautiful illustrations as those of the Birds of Great Britain scarcely existed before and are not likely to be surpassed" (R. Bowdler Sharpe).
This work held a special place in Gould's corpus; 468 subscribers are listed, and there were discussions of a second edition following its success. Gould playfully includes younger birds in their nests, and in the preface states, "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".
For more information about Gould, please refer to Lot 88.
LITERATURE:
Fine Bird Books, p. 102; Nissen IVB 371; Sauer 23; Zimmer, p. 261 PROVENANCE:
The birds of Great Britain. London: by the author, 1862-1873
FIRST EDITION, 5 volumes, folio (547 x 352mm.), dedication leaf, list of subscribers, lists of plates, 367 hand-coloured lithographed plates from drawings by Gould, Joseph Wolf, H.C. Richter and W. Hart, mostly lithographed by Richter and Hart, contemporary green morocco gilt
GOULD'S MOST SUBSCRIBED WORK.
"Such beautiful illustrations as those of the Birds of Great Britain scarcely existed before and are not likely to be surpassed" (R. Bowdler Sharpe).
This work held a special place in Gould's corpus; 468 subscribers are listed, and there were discussions of a second edition following its success. Gould playfully includes younger birds in their nests, and in the preface states, "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".
For more information about Gould, please refer to Lot 88.
LITERATURE:
Fine Bird Books, p. 102; Nissen IVB 371; Sauer 23; Zimmer, p. 261 PROVENANCE:
Upper estimated price slightly exceeded
The work The birds of Great Britain, 1862-1873, 5 volumes, contemporary green morocco gilt by John Gould was sold in the The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven Part I auction at Sothebys in London in May last year. Here, the upper estimate of GBP 35,000.00 was slightly exceeded - the artwork found a new owner for GBP 37,800.00 (€ 44,468.10). Admittedly, works by John Gould have also been auctioned for a multiple of this price - according to our records, the highest result so far was achieved by the work The Birds of Australia, [1840- 1848-1869, 8 volumes including Supplement|AID711784] in May last year with an auction result of GBP 302,400.00 (€ 355,744.81).
Oberer Schätzpreis leicht übertroffen
Die Arbeit The birds of Great Britain, 1862-1873, 5 volumes, contemporary green morocco gilt von John Gould wurde im Mai letzten Jahres in der Auktion The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven Part I bei Sothebys in London versteigert. Dabei wurde der obere Schätzpreis von GBP 35.000,00 leicht übertroffen – das Kunstwerk fand für GBP 37.800,00 (€ 44.468,10) einen neuen Besitzer. Freilich wurden Arbeiten von John Gould auch schon für ein Vielfaches dieses Preises versteigert – das bisher höchste Ergebnis erzielte nach unseren Aufzeichnungen die Arbeit The Birds of Australia, [1840- 1848-1869, 8 volumes including Supplement|AID711784] im Mai letzten Jahres mit einem Auktionsergebnis von GBP 302.400,00 (€ 355.744,81).
John Gould - Auction history
![John Gould - A Monograph of the Trogonidae, [1858-] 1875, contemporary green half morocco](/images/john-gould_a-monograph-of-the-trogonidae-1858-1875-contemporary-green-half-morocco_AID711791_320x320.jpg)
![John Gould - The Mammals of Australia, London, [1845-] 1863, 3 volumes, contemporary green morocco gilt](/images/john-gould_the-mammals-of-australia-london-1845-1863-3-volumes-contemporary-green-morocco-gilt_AID711789_320x320.jpg)
![John Gould - A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-Birds, [1849-] 1861](/images/john-gould_a-monograph-of-the-trochilidae-or-family-of-humming-birds-1849-1861_AID711788_320x320.jpg)
![John Gould - A Monograph of the Odontophorinae, London, [1844-] 1850, later green morocco gilt by Zaehnsdorf](/images/john-gould_a-monograph-of-the-odontophorinae-london-1844-1850-later-green-morocco-gilt-by-zaehnsdorf_AID711785_320x320.jpg)
![John Gould - The Birds of Australia, [1840-] 1848-1869, 8 volumes including Supplement](/images/john-gould_the-birds-of-australia-1840-1848-1869-8-volumes-including-supplement_AID711784_320x320.jpg)
![John Gould - The birds of Australia [suppressed parts], 1837-1838](/images/john-gould_the-birds-of-australia-suppressed-parts-1837-1838_AID711782_320x320.jpg)
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