Audubon, John James and Rev. John Bachman

The viviparous quadrupeds of North America. By John James Audubon, F.R.S., &c., &c. and the Rev. John Bachman, D.D., &c., &c. Vol. I. [-Vol. II, Vol. III].

New York: John James Audubon, 1846–1856. First edition.

Quarto: (10 7/8” x 7 3/8”, 278mm x 188mm).
Vol. I: binder’s blank, A⁴ B⁴ 2–50⁴, binder’s blank [$1 signed]. 204 leaves, pp. i–v (half-title, blank, title, copyright, introduction) vi–xii (7pp. introduction) xiii xiv [2] (table of Genera, blank) 1 2–389 [4] (4pp. blank).
Vol. II: binder’s blank, π² 1–42⁴ [$1 signed; 39 signed “19”]. 169 leaves, pp. [2] (title, copyright) 1 2–334 [2] (list of subscribers, blank).
Vol. III: binder’s blank, π⁴ 1–43⁴ 44⁴(–₄44), binder’s blank [$1 signed]. 179 leaves, pp. [2] (half-title, blank) i–iii (title, copyright, table of contents) iv–v (2pp. table of contents) [1] (blank) 1 2–348 [2] (table of Genera, blank). With 6 hand-colored lithographed plates.

Royal Folio: (27 3/16” x 21 1/8”, 690mm x 536mm).
Vol. I: π². 2 leaves, pp. [4] (title, blank, contents, blank). With 50 hand-colored lithographed plates.
Vol. II: π². 2 leaves, pp. [4] (title, blank, contents, blank). With 50 hand-colored lithographed plates.
Vol. III: π². 2 leaves, pp. [4] (title, blank, contents, blank). With 50 hand-colored lithographed plates.
With 156 hand-colored lithographed plates in toto.

Text volumes bound in purple buckram. On the spine, title, authors, and number printed to a paper label. Plate volumes bound in half black morocco over purple buckram of various grains. On the spine, 5 raised bands. Title gilt to second panel, number gilt to the third, authors gilt to the fourth, and call number gilt to the sixth. All edges of the text-block gilt.

Text volumes: spines sunned, wear and losses to the paper lettering pieces. Corners bumped, boards rubbed and soiled. Endpapers foxed and cockling along the gutter in each volume. Volume I with a dampstain that permeates the boards and affects the lower inner corners of the leaves throughout. Evenly tanned with occasional spotting. In volume II, vertical tears to the upper margin of ₃5 and ₄5, not affecting the text. In volume III, roughly half of quires remain uncut along the top edge. Loss to the top edge of π3. With an additional 6 plates: “Mountain Brook Mink,” “Jackall Fox,” “Weasel-like Squirrel,” “California Grey Squirrel,” “Harris Marmot Squirrel,” and “Crab-eating Raccoon.” Armorial bookplate of Edward Sands Litchfield to the front pastedown of each volume.

Plate volumes: spines worn, boards scratched and soiled. Preliminary leaves creased and with repaired tears. π1 of volume II strengthened along the top edge. First free endpaper of volume III creased and torn at the lower edge. Chipping to the extremities, sporadic foxing to the margins, offsetting, and thumb-soiling throughout. “Canada Lynx” lightly creased, tear to the lower edge of “Rocky Mountain Neotoma.” “W. Coll 9119 [-9120, -9121]” inked in manuscript to the rear pastedown of volume I, II, and III, respectively.

At the age of 58, John James Audubon (1785–1851) — the consummate woodsman and naturalist — embarked on his first journey across the Rocky Mountains to the Great Plains, seeking mammals to illustrate for this ambitious project following his vast and expensive Birds of America (1827–1838, octavo edition 1840–1844). Audubon failed to obtain government funding for what he called his “Great Western Journey.” Undeterred and believing in the scientific value and commercial promise of The Quadrupeds, Audubon decided to finance the expedition himself. He sought collaboration with The Rev. John Bachman (1790–1874), a Lutheran Pastor who had studied quadrupeds from his youth and was recognized as an authority among naturalists in the United States. Bachman was not keen on the trip, and Audubon himself conceded the hardships that it would entail. In a letter to Charles Bonaparte in February of 1843, he wrote: “To render [the Quadrupeds] more complete, I will leave the comforts of my home and beloved family, bound to the Rocky Mountains… I cannot tell how long I may be absent, but look to return loaded up with knowledge, new and abundant specimens on the shot and not from stuffed museums’ moth-eaten remains. I am told that I am too old to undertake such a long and arduous journey, but I reply that having the will, I will no doubt safely bear or even surmount the difficulties.”

Audubon departed from St. Louis in April 1843, traveling up the Missouri River with a group that included trappers, gentleman naturalists, and several Native Americans who had come to the city for trade. En route, Audubon delighted in sharing his work. During one of his impromptu showcases, Edward Harris (a naturalist on the expedition), recounted that one onlooker fled shocked from Audubon’s plate of woodchucks, exclaiming they were surely alive. After traveling some thousand miles, the group arrived on the prairie, a haven of wildlife where elk, deer, bears, wolves, and vast herds of buffalo roamed free, ripe for observation. Upon returning home, however, Audubon’s health began to deteriorate, and he left the illustrations of smaller animals for his son, John Woodhouse Audubon, to complete.

Ultimately, just over half of the quadrupeds were illustrated by John James himself, with the remainder completed by John Woodhouse. The backgrounds were finished by his youngest son, Victor Gifford Audubon, who saw the book through the press. It took the Audubon family five years to finalize and publish all 150 plates for the folio edition, which was later supplemented by 6 plates. As with the Birds, the large-format Viviparous Quadrupeds was limited in circulation due to the cost, with the result that the Audubons issued a royal octavo edition in the years following.

Heir to a multi-generational East Coast real estate firm, Edward Sands Litchfield (1911–1984) also inherited the collecting gene. His grandfather, Edward Hubbard Litchfield, and father, Bayard Sands Litchfield, were sportsmen and connoisseurs of medieval armor, fowling pieces, and antique firearms. Edward chose a more everyman fixation, and his collection of rare books — including the present example — graced the auction block at Sotheby’s New York on November 29^th, 2001. 

Nissen (ZBI) 162; Reese 36; Sabin 2367.

Cataloged by G.R. Murdock

Item #GRM0053

Price: $485,000