One of the 44 volumes containing over 3000 hand-coloured lithographs included in the sale
The Guardian notes the auction many of our ornithologically-oriented readers and contributors might find worth attending, even if not as bidders (given the expected final sale price) in order to see some of these prints up close (see samples after the jump):
Rare set of John Gould’s bird books for sale – in pictures
John Gould was one of the most brilliant ornithologists of the 19th century, and a talented artist to boot. He worked with Charles Darwin, travelled the world to research the beautiful folio works he produced, and set up a publishing company to sell them.
A complete set of his bird books, valued at £1.5m, is now on sale at Shapero Rare Books in London, the first private sale in over a quarter of a century. They can also be seen at Masterpiece London from 26 June-2 July 2014.
Ramphastos dicolorus – red-breasted toucan
Euplocomus vieilloti – vieillot’s crested rireback
Phoenicopterus – flamingo
Platycercus ignitus – fiery parrakeet
Phasianus soemmeringi – Soemmering’s pheasant, or copper pheasant
Calyptorhynchus banksii – red-tailed black cockatoo
Strix castanops – tasmanian masked owl
Thaumalea picta – golden pheasant
Eclectus polchlorus – New Guinea red-sided eclectus parrot
Organikos 