4. ALBIN, Eleazar (d.1741/2). A Natural History of Birds… by… Albin… carefully colour'd by his Daughter and Self. London: printed for the Author, sold by William Innys, John Clarke and John Brindley, 1731. Volume I only (of 3), 4to (281 x 230 mm). 101 fine hand-colored etched plates after Eleazar or Elizabeth Albin and others, colored by the Albins. Contemporary mottled calf, spine in seven compartments with raised bands, with the later overlaid gilt shield and coronet of a British Royal duke in the sixth and seventh compartments. Condition: some light overall offsetting of text onto the plates; spine chipped , joints split, corners worn. Provenance: an 18th-century British Duke (binding, armorial bookplate); Lynn Abbott Trust.
first edition, first issue, of the first volume of the first bird book issued with coloured plates. 89 sets were printed and colored for the original subscribers. The first issue includes the following points: the title is dated 1731, and makes no mention of William Derham's notes. The work was completed in three volumes with 306 plates. Cf. BM(NH) p.25; cf. Fine Bird Books (1990) p.71; cf. Mengel 33; cf. Mullens & Swann p.8; cf. Nissen IVB 14.
est. $2500 – £3500