John James Audubon's drawings of birds are today among the most revered of American works of art. They are of such extraordinary beauty that it's hard to remember that they were more scientific works at the time, designed to introduce the world to forms of life it had never seen, accurately more than artistically reproduced. He proved that God, or nature, is the finest artist of all. The William Reese Company has issued its 11th Art Bulletin, containing nine Audubon items, including many plates from the famed double elephant folio edition of his wondrous Bird of America. Here is what is being offered.
Item 1 is the 1860 re-issue of John James Audubon's Birds of America by his son, John Woodhouse Audubon. The younger Audubon took his father's drawings and republished them in the original double elephant folio size, using the newly developed chromolithography process to reproduce the color drawings. However, only 150, about a third of the originals, were completed, as many of the subscribers were lost when the Civil War intervened. Included is the double elephant folio atlas and eight (in four) text volumes. Priced at $585,000.
Item 2 is the gorgeous Trumpeter Swan drawing (plate 406) from the original folio edition, released in 1838. $120,000.
Item 3 is an oil painting of the American Goldfinch, created by Audubon and Joseph Bartholomew Kidd is 1831. Audubon believed that these paintings could be used for a profitable traveling exhibition, but the relationship between him and Kidd had broken down by 1834 and the exhibitions never took place. $195,000.
Item 4 is an 1831 letter from Audubon to his brother-in-law, William Bakewell, discussing his Ornithological Biography, the text which accompanied the folio first of Birds of America. $11,000.
Item 5 is an 1856 three-volume set of Audubon's Quadrupeds of North America, his follow-up study of American mammals. $13,500.
Item 6 is the first octavo edition from 1840-44 of Birds of America. This version was an enormous commercial success and provided Audubon with the financial rewards that had previously eluded him. $125,000.
Item 7 is the folio image of the Blue Crane or Heron (plate 307) published in 1837. $80,000
Item 8 is the Columbia Jay, also from the folio (plate 96), printed in 1831. $29,500.
Item 9 is one of the most beautiful of all of Audubon's folio prints, the Snowy Owl (plate 121) from 1831. $125,000.
The William Reese Company is found online at www.reeseco.com, phone number 203-789-8081.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
