John James Audubon’s Last Great Achievement and Signed Copy of Joyce’s Ulysses Come to Auction at Sotheby’s

John James Audubon, an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist, changed the course of natural history with his book The Birds of America, published in 1827. Before its publication, no one had ever seen such a vivid, life-sized depiction of birds in their natural habitats. Six volumes of folios with 150 hand-colored lithographed plates by John James Audubon and John Woodhouse Audubon is a notable lot in Sotheby’s upcoming Fine Books and Manuscripts Auction. Born illegitimately to a plantation worker mother who passed away soon after, John James Audubon was raised by his stepmother in colonized Haiti. As civil unrest grew, Audubon’s father arranged for the family to move to France in 1791. There, the artist discovered his affinity for birds, animals, and nature. The available lot from The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America includes three folio plate volumes and three text volumes containing five supplementary plates.

Another key item on offer is a copy of James Joyce’s Ulysses. Printed on handmade Dutch paper, the available lot is number 44 of 100 copies made and is signed by Joyce. The story of Ulysses begins in Dublin in 1904, chronicling the encounters of the protagonist Leopold Bloom, drawing comparisons to the Odyssey. The reader travels with each character’s voyage through their past, credited to the stream of consciousness technique, which Joyce pioneered in this book. Collectors of fine books and manuscripts can also find illustrations from John Gould and a copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass (1855) with an engraved frontispiece portrait of Whitman by Samuel Hollyer. Find the listed items and more on Sotheby’s and register to place a bid.