An Index and Guide to Audubon's Birds of America : A Study of the Double-Elephant Folio of John James Audubon's BIRDS OF AMERICA, as Engraved by William H. Lizars and Robert Havell

New York: The American Museum of Natural History / Abbeville Press, 1988. A gorgeous, pristine copy in perfect condition. Brand New in a Brand New dust jacket. Bright, shiny, clean, square and tight. Sharp corners. NO owner's name or bookplate. NOT a remainder. 1988. First Edition. 7.25" wide by 10.75" tall. Subtitle: A Study of the Double-Elephant Folio of John James Audubon's Birds of America, as Engraved by William H. Lizars and Robert Havell. Illustrated with photographs of all 435 of the original plates (3 per page). This is the first in-depth study of the hand-colored prints from Audubon's double-elephant folio. A detailed description of each of the 435 plates is given including image dimensions, all known variants, watermarks, errors of misnumbering and misidentification, etc. A photograph of each plate is provided for ease of reference. Discussions of composite plates, foreign and extinct birds, engraver's technique, values, profiles of Audubon's assistants and contemporaries, current names vs. those that appear in the plate legends, several useful indices, etc. Identified are all the plants and animals in the engravings. "In short, every bit of information known about each plate." An essential tool for print dealers, librarians and collectors, auction catalogers, ornithologists, and bird lovers. Bibliography. Index of Current Names. Index of Plate Names. Index of Painting Names. Bound in the original beige cloth. From the dust jacket: "John James Audubon's double-elephant folio BIRDS OF AMERICA (1827-38) is probably the most valuable American book. It contains 435 life-size, scientifically accurate, hand-colored prints of every species of North American bird known at the time… This is not only a comprehensive, cross-indexed concordance to the entire book in terms of bird names, but it also deals with variants in several plates, misnumbered plates, birds that are extinct, and mystery birds Audubon depicted that have never satisfactorily been identified… In summary, this volume provides a detailed description of each of the 435 plates in the double-elephant folio as well as their original paintings, and includes image dimensions, geographical distribution of each bird pictured, and a history of the discovery of the species in addition to identification of all the plants and animals in the engravings. Each variant is listed, every error of misidentification, every misnumbering - in short, every bit of information known about each plate." Full title: "An Index and Guide to Audubon's Birds of America : A Study of the Double-Elephant Folio of John James Audubon's BIRDS OF AMERICA, as Engraved by William H. Lizars and Robert Havell.". First Edition. Hardcover. New/New. Illus. by Audubon, John James; William H. Lizars; Robert Havell. 255pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.