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Mark Glancy, an expert in the work of artist John James Audubon, recently visited Guernsey to host a talk about a world famous book which is held within the Guille–Allès Library.
The book, Audubon’s Birds of America, forms the centrepiece of the ongoing ‘Boundless Curiosity’ exhibition celebrating 140 since the St. Peter Port library opened.
Only 49 of the original bound copies remain in existence, with two of these owned and stored by the Natural History Museum in London. First editions of Birds of America are valued at £8-10 million.
Mr Glancy, who was library services manager at National Museums Scotland for 13 years until his retirement, previously curated an exhibition on Birds of America in Edinburgh.
He hosted a private session with the lead exhibition sponsors, BDO Guernsey, prior to presenting to the public where staff learned of the book’s production and Audubon’s life as a wildlife conservationist.
Pictured: The book features life-sized and hand coloured prints of every species of bird in North America.
Mr Glancy was amazed at the condition of Guernsey’s copy of Birds of America: “In the 13 years of my career studying this book, this is the first copy of this particular edition I have seen. It is in remarkable condition, which is even more impressive still, as so few of the bound books remain today.
“The library’s copy is a ‘Bien Edition’ - a special reissue of Audubon’s work produced by his youngest son, some 20 years after the original was published.”
It’s believed that no more than 120 complete copies of the book exist today. The Bien Edition is even rarer, according to Mr Glancy. Fewer than 100 compilations of the artwork were printed, and it’s thought that less than 50 survive today, marking it as the rarest edition of one of the world’s rarest books.
“To be able to closely see the detail in the chromolithography, the method used to print the artwork in this particular edition, is a joy to me,” said Mr Glancy. “The Bien Edition was published to help relieve the Audubon family of financial trouble, but it heralded the start of even more.
“The outbreak of the American Civil War meant the end of production of the edition after only 150 plates had been printed with only 70 subscribers signed up. With this in mind, to have your edition so accessible is really special, and I thank the Guille-Allès Library for hosting me so generously.”
Birds of America and more rare artefacts will continue to be exhibited at the Guille-Allès Library as part of ‘Boundless Curiosity’ until January 21 2023.
The exhibition, which opened on Friday 4 November is free of charge.
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