John Gould | The Birds of Europe, London, [1832-] 1837, first edition, 5 vols, contemporary green moroccco

Property of a Gentleman

John Gould

The Birds of Europe. London: Richard and John E. Taylor, [1832-] 1837

FIRST EDITION, 5 volumes, folio (545 x 363mm.), dedication leaf, list of subscribers, list of plates, 448 hand-coloured lithographed plates, the majority drawn and lithographed by Elizabeth Gould from sketches and designs by the author, the remainder drawn and lithographed by Edward Lear, some heightened with white or gum arabic, printed by C. Hullmandel, contemporary green morocco gilt by J. Mackenzie, spines with raised bands in six compartments, morocco labels in second and third compartments, gilt edges, marbled endpapers, one plate in vol.3 with repair at outer margin (not affecting image), one text leaf in vol.4 with tape repair at lower margin, extremities slightly rubbed

Gould's second major work, The Birds of Europe, was published in twenty-two parts over five years between 1832 and 1837. This work is notable for the contribution of Edward Lear, who produced 67 of the plates. As Isabella Tree notes: "In volume Lear's contribution may not have been prolific, but its impact was revelatory. Lear's participation transformed the work of Mrs Gould, which in the Himalayan Birds was little more than a continuation of eighteenth-century productions, into dynamic and expressive works of art. Like an ornithological Michelangelo he propelled her limited sense of perspective into the third dimension" (Isabella Tree, The Ruling Passion of John Gould, p. 43).

PROVENANCE:

Ernest Augustus Malet Vaughan, 5th Earl of Lisburne (1836-1888): armorial bookplate

LITERATURE:

Anker 169; Fine Bird Books, p. 77; Nissen IVB 371; Sauer 2; Wood, p. 364