J.j. Audubon : Illustrator Of Birds.

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In December 2010, The Economist magazine estimated that, adjusted for inflation, five of the ten highest prices ever paid for printed books were paid for copies of Birds of America.[19] Of the 119 copies known to survive, only eleven are held in private collections.[20] In March 2000 the Fox-Bute copy sold at Christie's (New York) for $8,802,500.[21][22] In December 2005 an unbound copy, the Providence Athenaeum Set,[22] sold, again at Christie's (New York), for $5.6 million.[23]

On 6 December 2010, a complete copy of the first edition was sold in London at Sotheby's for £7,321,250[24] (approximately $11.5 million)[25] during the sale of Magnificent Books, Manuscripts and Drawings from the Collection of Frederick, Second Lord Hesketh. The winning bid was a record auction price for a printed book and was placed by London-based art dealer Michael Tollemache, who outbid three others during the auction.