Books & Manuscripts

Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888

Name: Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888
Brand: Fil Caravan
SKU: 277758475291
Price: 600.00 USD
Availability: InStock

Folio with 119 chromolithographic plates · Natural Science Association of America, New York · 1888

US $600.00 · or best offer

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Large 1888 folio of Studer's Birds of North America in gilt-decorated Turkey Morocco leather binding. — The gilt-stamped Morocco binding of Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888.

Description

An original 1888 folio of Birds of North America, edited by Jacob H. Studer with contributions from Theodore Jasper, John Graham Bell, and Frank M. Chapman, published under the auspices of the Natural Science Association of America in New York. Its full title reads: Birds of North America: One Hundred and Nineteen Artistic Color Plates Representing the Different Species and Varieties, Drawn and Colored from Nature; Including Copious Text Giving a Popular Account of Their Habits and Characteristics, Based on Observations Made in the Field by the Most Eminent Writers on Ornithology.

All 119 illustrations are true chromolithographs, not hand-colored, but hand-printed from successive stones, each stone etched for a single color layer and requiring precise registration. Theodore Jasper, A.M., M.D., drew the images directly from nature using the crayon lithographic process. The plates are printed on medium-weight india paper, sized to hold fine detail and vibrant color, while the text leaves are unsized; each plate retains its original tissue guard.

The volume is a large quarto measuring 15 x 12¼ in (38.1 x 31.1 cm) and weighing 12 lbs 10 oz, with 182 pages of text plus a nine-page index of plates and common names. It is bound in full Turkey Morocco leather, richly gilt-stamped and gilt-decorated, with gilt page edges and an ebru (marbled) design to the inside covers.

All four contributors were members of the American Ornithologists’ Union and the Ohio Society of New York, a scholarly foundation that makes the book both a scientific record and a document of chromolithography at its height.

Photographs

Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888, photograph 2

Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888, photograph 3

Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888, photograph 4

Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888, photograph 5

Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888, photograph 6

Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888, photograph 7

Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888, photograph 8

Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888, photograph 9

Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888, photograph 10

Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888, photograph 11

Studer’s Birds of North America, New York, 1888, photograph 12

Details

Editor	Jacob H. Studer
Contributors	Theodore Jasper, John Graham Bell, Frank M. Chapman
Published	Natural Science Association of America, New York, 1888
Illustrations	119 full-page chromolithographic plates, each with tissue guard
Format	Large quarto; book 15 x 12¼ in (38.1 x 31.1 cm); plates 12 x 9 in (30.5 x 22.9 cm)
Pages	182 pages of text plus 9-page index of plates and common names
Binding	Full Turkey Morocco leather, gilt-stamped and gilt-decorated; gilt edges; ebru endpapers
Weight	12 lbs 10 oz (5.74 kg)
Reference	eBay item 277758475291

Condition

The front cover is separated from the spine and the rear cover remains attached but slightly loose. Peripheral water staining is visible on many pages, though it rarely affects the plate areas; tissue guards are present on all illustrations. Sold as-is, with the historical and scholarly value intact, a professional conservator could restore it to museum-quality presentation.