Birds of America takes flight at a London auction

A privately owned copy of John Audubon’s colorfully written “Birds of America” sold for 7.3 millionat auction in London ,  crushing the auction record for a printed book. The book is one of few privately owned copies,it was bought by London dealer Michael Tollemache, who was bidding in the room and described the work after the sale as priceless. only 119 copies of “Birds of America” are known to exist.As expected,  Audubon’s prodigious  four-volume work, one of only 11 copies held in private hands.

It had been estimated to sell for 4-6 million pounds. The work was part of Sotheby’s sale of drawings,manuscripts and books from the collection of Lord Hesketh, who died in 1955.The book contains 500 breeds of birds and 1,000 illustrations and took Audubon 12 years to complete.

Audubon was an influential natural historian,he died in 1851, He was quoted three times in Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species.” Pom Harrington, owner of the Peter Harrington rare book firm in London, said it has been 10 years since the last complete edition of “Birds of America,” with all of the illustrations, has been auctioned ,that was sold for $8.8 million by Christie’s auction house in 2000, a record for a printed book at auction.

The volume is seen as a vital piece of American history, Harrington said.”It is the most important natural history book for America,” he said. “That is the main point. It screams Americana. For an American patriot, it is the greatest book on American heritage there is no competition.