A copy of John James Audubon's Birds of America tonight became the most expensive book ever sold when it went under the hammer at Sotheby's for £7.3m. The auction was a rare chance to own one of the best preserved editions of the 19th century masterpiece, with its 435 hand-coloured illustrations, seen as a key volume on US natural history.
For collectors, it is the equivalent of spotting the rare ivory gull or Bicknell's thrush: the chance to own an original copy of John James Audubon's "Birds of America."
A rare copy of John James Audubon's "Birds of America," billed as the world's most expensive book, is up for sale alongside a first edition of Shakespeare's plays at an auction to set book lovers' pulses racing, Sotheby's said Thursday.
Just received notice today from Bonhams & Butterfields that they are accepting entries for the fall Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Historical Photography auction. The auction is to be held Monday, October 4, 2010 in New York & Los Angeles.
A passage of text described by experts as "one of the most memorable and resonant endings in American literature" sold for nearly three-times its $35,000 estimate at Sotheby's, earlier this week.
