Gould's Monograph of Trogonidae

GOULD, John (1804-1881).
Monograph of the Trogonidae.
London: By the Author, 1835-38.
Comparable: Arader Galleries, 2018 - $43,750;
Christies, 2017 - $30,000.
John James Audubon’s Copy.
Parts II and III only (of three) in one volume. Folio (21 x 14 inches). Part III with general title-page, dedication, preface and list of the subscribers; all the relevant text to the two parts present. 25 of 36 hand-colored lithographs after John Gould, H.C. Richter, and W. Hart. Contemporary green morocco gilt, with original printed upper covers of the wrappers to the two parts bound in and laid down, all edges gilt. Provenance: Contemporary ownership inscription of John James Audubon (1785-1851), American Ornithologist and painter, on the original front wrapper to part II, a gift from the author; engraved bookplate of Maria R. Audubon (1843-1925), Audubon's artist daughter on the verso of the original front wrapper to part II; facsimile note of authentication from Audubon's grandson Leonard B. Audubon on the verso of the front free endpaper; Mr. Hallstrom; bookplate of the Arcadian Library (Natural History Collection), the leading repository of rare books recording the relations and influences between Europe and the Arab and Islamic world, on the front paste-down. JOHN JAMES AUDUBON'S COPY, with his ownership inscription signature dated "March 21st 1836. London". A gift from one great ornithologist to another: "Gould gave Audubon two parts each of his "Trogonidae" and "Icones avium", and also the two rare cancelled parts of "Birds of Australia and adjacent islands", before Gould left for his Australian adventure ...Mr. Len Audubon, a great-grandson of J. J. Audubon, was born in Australia and had these books in his possession." (Sauer). In addition Audubon has underlined a passage in the text opposite the "Trogon Narina" plate that refers to the young chicks: ". at the moment the young are excluded [from the nest] they take flight and follow their parents for a considerable period.", and written the following penciled note: "This beats my little humming Birds which cannot fly until they are one week old. Pray show this Paragraph to Charles Watterton "Esquire" of Walton Hall". A facsimile of the typed authenticity statement signed by Leonard B. Audubon states: "The books were given to my great grandfather, John James Audubon, an American Ornithologist and Painter. Gould at the time was painting along similar lines, and they exchanged copies of their works. These particular books were sent out to Australia forty years ago, and were held in the Audubon family until this year when Mr. Hallstrom purchased the books from the great grandson of John James Audubon. 16.3.1950". Audubon and Gould were subscribers to each other's works, Audubon to Gould's first major work "A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains" (London: 1831-1833), and to "The Birds of Europe" (1832-1837), and is said to have influenced Gould's artistic style in the latter, encouraging him to make the subjects of his plates more lively and natural. However he received scant acknowledgement from Gould: Audubon is credited in Gould's preface along with twenty others for "the warm interest which they have at all times taken in the present work". In a letter to his great friend the clergyman and naturalist John Bachman dated 30th April 1835 Audubon wrote of Gould: ". [he] is a man of great industry and has the advantage of the Zoological Society, museums, gardens, etc, and is in correspondence with Temminck, Jardine, Selby, James Wilson and the rest of the scientific gentry, his wife makes his drawings on stone. She is a plain, fine woman, and although their works are not quite up to Nature, both deserve great credit" (reported by Herrick). Gould's second monograph in which he introduces 12 species new to science. Trogons (and Quetzels) mostly inhabit tropical rainforests and get their name from the Greek ('Trogon') word for nibbling, referring to the way in which they gnaw holes in trees to make their nests. Anker 171; Nissen IVB 381; Sauer reporting Tom Iredale's article "Audubon in Australia" from the "Australian Zoologist" 11: 318-21, 1951.