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(ZOOLOGY). AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES. The Quadrepeds of North America. Three volumes. 155 hand-finished color lithographed plates by J.T. Bowen from drawings on stone by W. E. Hitchcock and R. Trembley, after J.J. and J.W. Audubon. Occasional foxing. Lacking pl. 130 (squirrel), but duplicate of pl. 110 (rat). Contemporary gilt-tooled morocco, rubbed. Large 8vo. Bennett, p. 5; Nissen ZBI 163; Reese, Stamped With A National Character 38; Sabin 2638; Wood p. 208 (all first for first edition). New York, V.G. Audubon, 1854. Second octavo edition of Audobon's final great natural history work. With plates and descriptions of the quadrupeds of the United States including Texas, California and Oregon, as well as part of Mexico, the British and Russian possessions and Arctic regions. The Quadrupeds was first published in a folio format. The octavo edition, issued in response to the success of a similar edition of The Birds of America, contains all of the original 150 plates, with 5 of the 6 supplemental plates, reduced by means of the camera lucida. The work was first prepared for the press and published by Audubon's sons, John W. and Victor, shortly after their father's death in January, 1851. Due to his declining health, Audubon had only been able to sketch about half of the animals included in the final publication—the remainder being drawn by John W., with most of the scientific details in the text written by John Bachman. With the completion of the third volume in 1854 the quartet of natural history works as envisaged by Audubon was complete.