Audubon's Birds of America. (The Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio) by Roger Tory Peterson; Virginia Marie Peterson - 1981

New York: Abbeville Press, 1981. First edition thus. Slipcased. Fine. Deluxe facsimile edition of John James Audubon's "Birds of America", bound in quarter leather, gilt title, with the deluxe slipcase, illustrated label titled and image of a pelican. Audubon's artistic illustrations are organized and annotated by Roger Tory Peterson and Virginia Marie Peterson, with a systematic arrangement of the prints with modern classification by species with descriptive captions. Baby elephant folio (15 x 14") with approximately 700 pp, unpaginated, sepia color endpapers. The text is divided into 11 divisions, with full color illustrations of the birds, explanatory text paired with a b&w illustration. Many of the 482 color illustrations are folding. In total there are 917 illustrations. Bound in quarter brown leather and cream cloth covers, gilt title on spine. Housed in deluxe cloth slipcase. Printed and bound by Toppan Printing, Japan. This magnificent production is a massive volume weighing in at some 18 lbs.