Item LIB 62467 Rare Book: John Gould, 'A synopsis of the birds of Australia, and the adjacent islands', London, 1837-1838

Summary

Full title: A synopsis of the birds of Australia, and the adjacent islands. By John Gould F.L.S., &c. Author of various works on the 'Birds of Europe', 'The Birds of the Himalaya Mountains,' 'A monograph of the Ramphastidae,' 'A monograph of the Trogoidae,' &c. London: Published by the author, 20 Broad Street, Golden Square. 1837-38.

'A synopsis of the birds of Australia, and the adjacent islands' was published in four parts between January 1837 and April 1838. It was used to gauge interest in Gould's larger planned project 'The Birds of Australia'. With the increasing interest and publication of works on birds of the world, John Gould recognised the immense potential for a work on Australian birds. Gould planned to detail the continent's vast array of bird species, many described for the very first time.

Gould's wife Elizabeth contributed most of the original artwork, lithography and hand-colouring of the 73 plates, detailing 168 specimens. Smaller in size than 'The Birds of Australia', the 'Synopsis' presents mainly the heads of birds in portrait format and a few other physical details such as wings and feet. This contrasts with 'The Birds of Australia' volumes, which feature full page illustrations of the subject (often both male and female) in their natural environment. Elizabeth based her works on specimens collected by her brothers Stephen and Charles Coxen, who had migrated to Australia.

Elizabeth Gould was an accomplished artist, much more so than her husband, whose artistic talent extended to basic sketches and compositional work. John recognised this talent early in their marriage and involved Elizabeth in the illustrations for his many publications. Elizabeth was a diligent worker for John; whilst working on the synopsis she also contributed 50 plates to the 'Birds' volume of 'The Zoology of the Voyage of the H. M. S. Beagle'. Elizabeth's contributions to her husband's works and success were largely overlooked, until 1938 when letters from Elizabeth were discovered by her great-grandsons in England. Historians now recognise the significance of Elizabeth's contribution to some of the most important natural history books of the 19th century.

The work contains short summaries of bird species alongside each illustration, and an appendix entitled: 'Descriptions of new species of Australian birds, principally in the author's collection, with characters of several new genera; read at the scientific meeting of the Zoological Society in December 1837'.

Published in four parts in imperial octavo format between Jan 1837 and April 1838. Issued in both black and white and colour versions. Museums Victoria holds a coloured copy.

Physical Description

Hard-cover volume with black and gold binding. Comprised of title page, contents page, and 73 hand-colored lithograph plates of heads of birds. The appendix includes includes eight numbered pages bound in at the end of the volume.

Significance

Gould recognised that there was a lack of comprehensive publications on birdlife in Australia. This preparatory work was the first step in realising the massive undertaking of illustrating every single bird species in Australia. The 'Synopsis' includes 168 species, including 36 new to Western science. Each species has a short description on plumage but lacks the detailed reports of habits as seen in its successor, 'The Birds of Australia'. At the time, there was simply not enough information available in Europe on Australian birds. It also acted to whet the appetite for Gould's subscribers. Ever the businessman, Gould needed to prove there was an appetite for a larger, grander work that would pave the way for him and Elizabeth to make the long journey to Australia.