AUDUBON'S GREATEST TRIUMPH 205 



"This work is presented to J. Prescott Hall by his 

 poor Friend and sincerely attached servant 



JOHN J. AUDUBON" 

 "New York April 4, 1844." 



"Mr Audubon told me in the year 184 that he did 

 not sell more than 40 copies of his great work in England, 

 Ireland, Scotland, and France, of which Louis Phillippe 

 took 10. 



"The following received their copies but never paid 

 for them: George IV., Dutchess of Clarence, Marquis of 

 Londonderry, Princess of Hesse Homburg. 



"An Irish lord whose name he would not give, took 

 two copies and paid for neither. Rothschild paid for his 

 copy, but with great reluctance. 



"He further said that he sold 75 copies in America, 26 

 in New York and 24 in Boston; that the work cost him 

 27,000 and that he lost $25,000 by it. 



"He said that Louis Phillippe offerred to subscribe for 

 100 copies if he would publish the work in Paris. This 

 he found could not be done, as it would have required 40 

 years to finish it as things were then in Paris. Of this 

 conversation I made a memorandum at the time which I 

 read over to Mr. Audubon and he pronounced it correct. 



"J. PRESCOTT HALL." 



As regards the subscription of Rothschild the follow- 

 ing account of his interview with the famous banker has 

 been recorded by Audubon himself. 28 The naturalist, it 

 appears, received a letter to Baron Rothschild from the 

 American banking-house of Prime, Ward & King, and 

 presented it in the summer of 1834. The banker was 



1828-29 (2 vols., New York, 1831-33). Mr. Hall was a subscriber to the 

 octavo editions of Audubon's Birds and Quadrupeds. 



28 According to Lucy B. Audubon, ed., The Life of John James Audu- 

 bon (Bibl. No. 73), from which we have drawn numerous extracts from 

 his journals; see p. 381, under date of May 12, 1834. 



