Summary

'Birds of Australia' was published by English ornithologist John Gould between 1840 and 1848, with a supplement published between 1851 and 1869. The complete work consists of seven illustrated volumes and a supplement (8 volumes), published in a folio format. The 681 illustrations are hand coloured lithographed plates by Elizabeth Gould (84), Henry Constantine Richter (595), Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (1) and Edward Lear (1). The work was produced and published in London, however John and Elizabeth Gould visited Australia in 1838-1840 to conduct research towards the publication.

The plates were printed by the firm Hullmandel and Walton, and the hand colouring was completed by Gabriel Bayfield's studio. The accompanying letterpress descriptions of each bird were written by John Gould and printed by the firm R. & J. E. Taylor. 'Birds of Australia' was originally issued in parts to subscribers - in all there were 250 subscribers, of which 175 of those sets are now accounted for in institutions. The remaining 75 sets are in private hands or have been broken up and sold as individual prints.

Volume 1 covers Raptores, commonly known as birds of prey, and contains illustrations by Elizabeth Gould and Henry Constantine Richter.

Physical Description

Hard-cover volume with brown and gold binding, measuring 57cm high. Comprises 36 hand-coloured lithographic plates and 155 pages of letterpress, including the list of subscribers, general index, preface, introduction and table of the range and distribution of the species and list of plates. The preface and introduction are numbered v - cii, while the remainder of the text is unnumbered.

Significance

This series was the first attempt at a comprehensive account of Australian birds with illustrations, and the publication doubled the number of Australian birds described in Western science. Some 681 species were included, of which about 300 were described for the first time by Europeans. 'Birds of Australia' is often thought to be Gould's greatest achievement not only for its sheer magnitude but also for the beauty and accuracy of the hand coloured lithographs.

Museums Victoria Library holds two sets of Gould's 'Birds of Australia'. This volume, with brown and gold binding, is part of a set purchased in in the earliest days of the museum by the museum's first curator William Blandowski, before the establishment of an acquisitions register in 1855.McCoy purchased parts 1-5 of supplement direct from John Gould from 1858-1869. The first two volumes are annotated by Blandowski, who consulted the books while he was compiling a checklist of Victorian birds in the 1850s.

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