The Birds of Australia & Supplement
THE LEIGH–DORROS SET
Eight volumes (seven plus Supplement). Voll. 1-7: London: Richard and John E. Taylor for the author, [1840]–1848. Supplement: London: Taylor and Francis for the author, [1851]–1869. First edition.
Folio (21 3/8” x 14 15/16”, 542mm x 363mm). With 681 lithographed plates, of which 3 are double page; all hand-colored.
Bound in contemporary olive morocco with wide floriate gilt borders. On the spine, five pairs of raised bands. Author and title gilt to the second panel. Number gilt to the third panel. Gilt inside dentelles and yellow-glazed end-papers. All edges of the text-block gilt.
Some scuffing generally, but an altogether remarkable set of a vast work. Scattered light foxing or offsetting (with the tissue-guards more generally tanned). Armorial bookplate of Stoneleigh Abbey to the front paste-down of each volume.
John Gould (1804–1881) conceived a massive project: to illustrate the world’s birds in a regal format. He is best known for his multi-volume works on the birds of every continent but Africa. Following the success of his 1837 Birds of Europe, Gould with his wife Elizabeth — the principal artist of the work, responsible for some 600 of the plates — went, most unusually for the times, to Australia. They remained there for two years, with John Gould traversing the mainland as well as Tasmania to observe and procure specimens, and Elizabeth Gould remaining on the coast to produce the drawings.
While there, he began to have the initial parts circulated to the 250 subscribers, but was not pleased with them. Upon his return to England, he asked subscribers to return those early instalments and to begin again. That project continued until 1848, describing for the first time some 300 species. As exploration of the continent continued, Gould saw fit to issue a supplement, again in parts, over 18 years. Along with the 1837–1838 Synopsis, the 1865 Handbook and the 1845–1863 Mammals of Australia, Gould’s fascination with Australian flora and fauna is clear. The Birds remains the fullest treatment of the subject and — especially complete with the Supplement — a punishingly rare work to find.
Chandos Leigh, first Baron Leigh (1791–1850) was a Harrow friend of Byron’s and a poet in his own right. His father inherited Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire, which was visited by his cousin Jane Austen in 1806; it may well be the inspiration for Sotherton Court in Mansfield Park. Leigh was a friend of Gould’s, and although he is not listed among the subscribers for the present work, he did subscribe to others of Gould’s publications. The Supplement must have been added to the library at Stoneleigh by his son William Henry Leigh (1824–1905).
The set came to be owned by one of the great American bibliophiles, Dr. Gerald Dorros, whose library in Jackson Hole, WY continues to grow. A pioneer of angioplasty, Dorros began collecting books only in 2000 and amassed well over 10,000 volumes. The sale of his ornithological books at Christie’s New York (Dorros is a native of Queens) in 2017 (15 June; the present item lot 124 — the most valuable lot in in the auction) was notable for its exceptional quality and completeness. Together the provenance of the set is sterling, a testament to the originality and freshness of the work.
Anker 174 (Birds) and 179 (Supplement); Ayer/Zimmer pp. 255 (B) and 259 (S); Nissen, IVB 370; Sauer 9 (B) and 18 (S); Sitwell, Fine Bird Books p. 101; Wood p. 365.
FOR A SHORT FILM ABOUT THIS SET, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
(c) Paul Barbera
Item #JLR0492
Price: $650,000