Issued in 100 parts, with 5 plates for each part.

"The last, or a reprint of the last, complete edition of Audubon's work on the birds of America. It is not dated ..."--Zimmer, J.T. Ayer Lib., p. 26.

The text is based on Audubon's descriptions of birds in his Ornithological biography (1831-1839), which was written with the assistance of William MacGillivray. The majority of the plates are based on those appearing in the double elephant folio ed., without text, London, 1827-1838, with some changes made to accommodate the reduced octavo size.

"C.A. Alvord, printer"--Verso of t.p.'s.

The plates have lithographed beige or aqua backgrounds with hand-colored details, and use block, rather than italic, lettering for the artists' and printers' attributions (both the colored backgrounds and the block lettering are identifying features for the later octavo eds.).

The plates were done after J.J. and J.W. Audubon by W.E. Hitchcock, R. Trembly, and others, and printed and lithographed by J.T. Bowen of Philadelphia.

Plate 187 in the text (Townsend's finch) is misnumbered as 188 on the plate, and plate 188 in the text (Brown finch) is misnumbered as 187 on the plate.

"John James Audubon" (a biographical sketch): v. 1, p. i-xv, following table of contents.

extracted picklist 20081216 BHLEX

Audubon & the Smithsonian Exhibit QL674.A91b ; 39088004432118 1998/02/09 through 1998/07/10 none ; plate - Rose breasted grossbreak William E. Baxter SIL Exhibition Gallery Helena Wright return to shelf

Audubon & the Smithsonian Exhibit QL674.A91b ; 39088004432126 1997/05/09 through 1997/08/09 none ; plate - Kingfisher William E. Baxter SIL Exhibition Gallery Helena Wright return to shelf

Audubon & the Smithsonian Exhibit QL674.A91b ; 39088004432118 1997/08/09 through 1997/11/09 none ; plate - Robin William E. Baxter SIL Exhibition Gallery Helena Wright return to shelf

Audubon & the Smithsonian Exhibit QL674.A91b ; 39088004432118 1997/11/09 through 1998/02/09 none ; plate - Cardinal William E. Baxter SIL Exhibition Gallery Helena Wright return to shelf

Audubon & the Smithsonian Exhibit QL674.A91b ; 39088004432118 1998/02/09 through 1998/07/10 none ; plate - Rose breasted grossbreak William E. Baxter SIL Exhibition Gallery Helena Wright return to shelf

Audubon & the Smithsonian Exhibit QL674.A91b ; 39088004432126 1997/05/09 through 1997/08/09 none ; plate - Kingfisher William E. Baxter SIL Exhibition Gallery Helena Wright return to shelf

Audubon & the Smithsonian Exhibit QL674.A91b ; 39088004432118 1997/08/09 through 1997/11/09 none ; plate - Robin William E. Baxter SIL Exhibition Gallery Helena Wright return to shelf

Audubon & the Smithsonian Exhibit QL674.A91b ; 39088004432118 1997/11/09 through 1998/02/09 none ; plate - Cardinal William E. Baxter SIL Exhibition Gallery Helena Wright return to shelf

Smithsonian's America 39088002531457; Plate 12, no. 3, following p. 50 1994/01/15 through 1994/10/31 Diane Shaw Nippon Convention Center, Chiba Prefecture, Japan Merrill Lavine (NMAH).

SCNHRB has two copies; neither is dated. The publisher, George R. Lockwood, issued three undated reprints of The birds of America, in 1870, 1871, and 1889. Both SCNHRB copies have the same plate numbering error described in the NUC pre-56 LC record for the 1871 ed. and are a presumed match for that edition.

SCNHRB c. 1 has 8 v.; the biography of Audubon in v. 1 is wanting.

SCNHRB c. 1 has bookplate: Gardner Rand.

SCNHRB c. 1 has later half-leather binding with marbled boards; raised bands; blind-tooled spine; marbled endpapers and edges.

SCNHRB c. 2 is incomplete, containing the plates only.

Each v. of SCNHRB c. 2 has bound at end: Baird, S.F. Catalogue of North American birds, chiefly in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution. (Smithsonian miscellaneous collections). Washington : Smithsonian Institution, 1859. Bound together subsequent to publication.

SCNHRB c. 2 has binder's titles: v. 1: Land birds, plates 1-160; v. 2: Land birds, plates 161-320; v. 3: Water birds, plates 321-500.

SCNHRB c. 2, v. 1 has t.p. with imprint: New York ; Philadelphia : J.J. Audubon, 1844, although the plates are apparently from one of the G.R. Lockwood reprints.

SCNHRB c. 2, v. 2 has plates numbered 161-302 [not 320, as on binder's title], plus plates numbered 481-500 (duplicated from v. 3).

SCNHRB c. 2, v. 3 has plates numbered 303-500.

SCNHRB c. 2 has stamp on t.p.: Smithsonian Institution National Museum, Dec. 28, 1920; accession no. (all 3 v.): 249931. Note typed on old card set: "Baird, Spencer Fullerton, estate ..."

SCNHRB c. 2 has later green morocco half-leather binding with mottled paper boards; raised bands; gilt-tooled spine; marbled endpapers; top edge gilt.