SPARRMAN, Andreas (1748-1820). Museum carlsonianum, in quo novas et selectas aves, coloribus ad vivum brevique descriptione illustratas, suasu st sumtibus generosissimi possessoris, exhibet Andreas Sparrman. Stockholm: Typographia Regia, 1786-1789.

SPARRMAN, Andreas (1748-1820). Museum carlsonianum, in quo novas et selectas aves, coloribus ad vivum brevique descriptione illustratas, suasu st sumtibus generosissimi possessoris, exhibet Andreas Sparrman. Stockholm: Typographia Regia, 1786-1789.

4 parts, 4° (350 x 250mm). Half-titles. 100 hand-coloured etched plates by Fredrik Akrel after Jonas Carl Linnerhielm, some with colour-printed base, all with letterpress numbering in top right margin. (Some light spotting or browning.) Contemporary Swedish green morocco gilt, covers with border of a gilt decorative roll, spines in seven compartments with raised bands, red morocco lettering-piece in the second compartment, fascicule number in the third, the other compartments with repeat decoration in gilt of foliage corner-pieces around a large central tool of a stork or heron, comb-marbled endpapers, gilt and gauffered edges (some slight discolouration to leather).

A VERY FINE COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS VERY RARE WORK: "THE EARLIEST SUMPTUOUS ORNITHOLOGICAL WORK TO BE PUBLISHED IN SCANDINAVIA" (Anker) and "very important in view of the new species contained therein" (Zimmer). The pictures and text describe birds brought back by the Swedish explorer Sparrman which formed the museum of Gustavus Carlson. At Carlson's death only a part of the collection was bequeathed to the Natural History Museum of Sweden, but the majority of the collection was eventually reunited there. The collection was important enough to warrant the careful study of the skins by C.J. Sundevall, who (despite the depredations of insects) was able to identify most of the birds represented; his results were published in 1857. BM(NH) V, p.249; Anker 481; Fine Bird Books (1990) p.143; cf. C.Jackson Dictionary of Bird Artists of the World p.342 (entry for Linnerhielm); Nissen IVB 889; Zimmer p.599. (4)