LIFE-SIZE BIRDSConsidered a masterpiece of ornithology art, the 3 1/ 2-foot-tall books feature hand-colored prints of all the species known to Audubon in early 19th century America. Audubon insisted on the book's large format -- printed on the largest handmade sheets available at the time -- because of his desire to portray the birds in their actual size and natural habitat.

The set is being sold by the heirs of the Fourth Duke of Portland.Experts estimate that 200 complete first-edition copies were produced over an 11-year period, from 1827 to 1838. Today, 120 are known to exist; 107 are in institutions and 13 in private hands.Another complete first edition of "The Birds of America" sold at Sotheby's in London in December 2010 for $11.5 million, a record for the most expensive printed book sold at auction.

A STATUS THING"The overall cost to print a set at the time was estimated to be 115,000 pounds sterling, which would be over $2 million today," said Francis Wahlgren, head of Christie's books and manuscripts.That is why Audubon "had to presell to wealthy families with subscriptions to fund the production," he added. "It was a kind of status thing."Because all the birds are portrayed life size, Audubon found creative ways to paint them."Many of the large birds are bending down feeding, and they're contorted to fit the page.

 But he does it in a graceful way, very artistic," like extending a tail feather beyond the margin, Wahlgren said.WORK OF ARTNo one at that time would have considered that kind of book of ornithology, he said.

In the 18th century, "you started moving into engravings but things like scale were not as important."Audubon brought it truer to life, "furthering it as individual works of art, dealing with backgrounds, settings -- the flora and fauna that surrounded the bird. He took the aesthetic of what is a scientific book and raised it to the point of art," Wahlgren said.

Source: http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/audubon-book-auction-is-for-the-birds-1.3444814