AUDUBON, John James (1785–1851). –– BACHMAN, John (1790–1874). The Quadrupeds of North America. New York: V. G. Audubon, 1854. 3 volumes, royal 8vo (268 x 175 mm). Half–titles, 155 HAND–COLORED LITHOGRAPHED PLATES by J. T. Bowen after J. J. and J. Woodhouse Audubon, under tissue guards (marginal light browning). Original publisher’s deluxe dark brown morocco gilt, 6 compartments with 5 raised bands, spines gilt, all edges gilt, gilt dentelles (Volumes I and II rebacked preserving original spines and endpapers, intermittent pale spotting to text, some offsetting from plates). EARLY OCTAVO EDITION OF AUDUBON’S FINAL WORK, containing one hundred and fifty plates from the 1845–48 folio edition of The Viviparous Quadrupeds of America, and five plates from the rare 1854 supplement of that work. The first edition was issued in 1851 as response to the success of a similar octavo edition of The Birds of America but with the declining health of John J. Audubon, only being able to sketch about half of the animals that were included in the final publication, his son took over and was able to finish the remainder of the drawings with most of the scientific detail included in the text that written by Bachman. Bennett, p. 5; Meisel, III: p. 440; Sabin 2368.