Burns — On Alexander Wilson. 185 



Smitsonian Institution. | Vol. I [ — III]. Philadelphia: | Por- 

 ter and Coates. j [No date. i871.] 3 vols. imp. 8vo. with folio 

 atlas in two parts, the fir.st entitled : 



American Ornithology ; ! or, | the Natural History | of the ] 

 Birds of the United States. | Plates | engraved and colored 

 from original Drawings taken from Nature. | By | Alexander 

 Wilson. [Trademark.] Philadelphia: Porter and Coates, 

 I 822 Chestnut street. Leaf of index and 76 plates. The sec- 

 ond part is simply entitled : 



Bonaparte's Ornithology | Plates. Leaf of index and 27 pll. 

 As this does not bear the publishers' imprint, it was undoubt- 

 edly intended a mere subtitle to be bound with the first. It is 

 frequently found separated, and has caused some confusion to 

 cataloguers on account of this insufficient title. The whole 

 work is from the Caxton Press of Sherman & Co., Phila., and 

 stereotyped by Mears & Dusenbery. 



A'nl. I, pp. v-vi contents of Vol. I, vii editor's preface, ix-x preface 

 to the life of "Wilson, xl-cxxxii sketch of the author's life, 1-0 in- 

 trodurtion, 11-214 text of Am. orn. from Turkey A^ulture to Ilum- 

 mingljii'd. 



Vol. II, pp. v-viii contents of Vol. II. 1-9 introduction, 9-284 text. 

 Red-winged Starliu? to Partridge, 285-287 introduction to Water- 

 birds, 289-390 Martineo Gallinule to Rofeate Spoonbill. Vol. Ill, 

 pp. iii-viii contents of Vol. Ill, i-xiv catalogue of North American 

 birds by Prof. ?pencer F. Baird, xv-xvi alphabetical index of ge- 

 nera of l)irds, 9-133 text, Crey Phalarope to female Snakebird, 189- 

 140 contents of Bonaparte's ornithology, 141-143 preface to the or- 

 iginal edition in four volumes, 145-148 preface to the second and 

 third volumes, 149-408 text Bonaparte's ornithology following the 

 original sequence, 409-^20 combined index of whole work. 



This is simply a reprint of Ord's fine 1828-1829 edition, with the 

 interpolation of Baird's Catalogue of North American Birds, re- 

 printed from the 8vo edition of 1858, and the addition of Bona- 

 parte's work. The original plates of Wilson's work were pui'chased 

 at a cost of $1700, but as Bonaparte's beautiful plates had been 

 melted and sold for old copper, resource was made to photography 

 and elec trotyping to reproduce the latter. The coloring for the 

 most part is high and lacks 'the artistic merit of the best earlier 

 edition. Had Coues closely examined the 1828-1829 edition, he 

 would scarcely have quoted from the editor's preface of the Porter 

 and Coates edition (Cf. I'.ibliographical Appendix, p. GS9), as it is 



