Gould, John

A Monograph of Trochilidae or Family of Humming Birds. London: the author, [1849-]1861; Supplement. London: Henry Sotheran & Co., [1880-]1887

6 volumes, folio (21 1/2  x  14ins; 540 x 360 mm); 418 hand-coloured lithographed plates by and after J. Gould, H.C. Richter and W. Hart, printed by Hullmadel & Watson; light spotting to approximately 70 plates throughout the work, perhaps another 10 with more moderate foxing. Contemporary English dark green morocco gilt extra; minor rubbing to extremities and raised bands on spine. Each volume housed in modern cloth cases.

Marcel Jeanson (bookplate, sale Sotheby's Monaco, 16 June, 1988, lot 38, $101, 319)

Anker 177; Fine Bird Books, p.78; Nissen IVB 380; Sauer 16 and 29; Zimmer, p.258

The Jeanson Copy.

''The trochilidae of Gould is his masterpiece, and must ever remain a feast of beauty and a source of wonder'' (Fine Bird Books, p.29).

The work was issued in thirty parts, including the Supplement, the last four parts being published after Gould's death with R. Bowdler Sharpe responsible for the text. The total number of species described was about 482. The birds are often shown in flight, darting or hovering among flowers in order to bring out every aspects of their plumage. To reproduce the iridescence of the feathers Gould used pure gold leaf over-painted with transparent oil colours and varnish. Gould's own remarkable collection of 1500 mounted humming birds was exhibited in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, during the Great Exhibition of 1851. It attracted 75,000 visitors, including Queen Victoria, who recorded in her diary: ''It is impossible to imagine anything so lovely as these little Humming Birds, their variety, and the extraordinary brilliance of their colours.''