‘Ramphastos Toco’, a plate featuring the largest and probably best-known species of toucan from the enlarged second edition of Gould’s '…Family of Toucans' sold by Freeman’s at $50,000 (£35,460).
Illustrated with 51 hand-coloured litho plates after John Gould and Henry C Richter, they were to be found in a copy of the expanded and revised, 1852-54 second edition of John Gould’s Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans, which included 18 plates not featured in the 1834 first edition.
The contemporary full blue morocco gilt binding of this copy was broken and the title and other early leaves detached along with the front board.
Some soiling to the margins of both text leaves and plates was also evident, as well as offsetting, but in doubling its estimate to sell at $50,000 (£35,460) it fell not far short of setting an auction record for the work.
The sale took place on May 20.
