Audubon's Birds of America: The Royal Octavo Edition

Good condition but not what was listed. The image shown in the listing was a red canvas with gold embossing of the title on the cover (which was what I was specifically looking for). I received a bright blue with repetitive graphics with book title on spine. The insides are what I expected and lovely, however I was looking for the book with a cover that was shown in the listing. So frustrating. Giving two stars instead of one because the inside is in good shape, but the listing of the cover was luring and a lie.

I bought this book as a gift. The photos show this book was published in 1937. Nope. It's from 1953. Big difference. Really disappointed in the misleading information. Book in described condition, but inaccurate date - price would've been much less had the correct publishing date been disclosed.

I ordered this book because the only picture of it showed a copyright date of 1944. Which is what I was looking for. I was extremely disappointed when it arrived and was a 1985 Edition I feel like I was deliberately lied to

For the grump who gave this book a one-star rating (it deserves a six-star rating!), the dimensions of this oversized book are 10 1/2 X 14 1/2 inches.Drool over the watercolours and then imagine the work that went into creating them. All yours for a fraction of the cost of the originals. A steal!

This book contains the complete collection of the 435 illustrations from Audubon's famous Havell edition "Double Elephant Folio" of "Birds of America." It took 12 years, from 1826 to 1838, for Robert Havell, a 19th century London engraver, working from Audubon's detailed watercolors, to finish the project, and when it was done, the collection of 435 engravings was sold to subscribers. Today the Havell engravings are worth small fortunes individually, and it is the lucky museum or library that can boast of having a complete, original portfolio. But here in this single book, Audubon's beautiful, powerful, and extraordinarily detailed paintings can be seen by anyone interested in natural history, American romantic painting, ornithology, bird watching, etc. Audubon is one of America's most important artists and naturalists, and this book is an excellent way to get better acquainted with John James Audubon's masterpiece, "Birds of America."