A rare copy of the most expensive book in the world, John James Audubon’s “Birds of America,” will be up for sale at Sotheby’s, according to a Thursday announcement.
Only 119 copies are confirmed to exist, of which 108 are in libraries, universities, and museums. One copy is worth $6.73 million to $10.1 million.
The 19th-century book with 1,000 illustrations of natural history is one of the world’s most beautiful books.
To perfect his masterpiece, John James Audubon spent about 12 years of study. He went to America to shoot birds in order to create realistic watercolors of them.
Another copy was sold about a decade ago by Christie’s for $8.8 million, breaking the record for a printed book sold at auction.
The book has huge illustrations of more than 35 inches by 24 inches, because Audubon painted the birds their actual size. “That’s all very well with weed warblers, but when you come to bald eagles you’re going to need a big book. Audubon himself described the size as a ‘double elephant’ folio,” said David Goldthorpe, Sotheby’s book expert, according to AP.
