A Rare Bird

LONDON / A rare copy of John James Audubon's "Birds of America," billed as the world's most expensive book, is up for sale alongside a first edition of Shakespeare's plays at auction on Dec. 7. One of only 100 or so remaining copies of "Birds of America" is valued at between $6.2 million and $9.2 million, while a Shakespeare First Folio from 1623 is expected to fetch at least $1.54 million. Sotheby's books expert David Goldthorpe said the two tomes are "the twin peaks of book collecting." It is one of the most significant — and beautiful — published works of natural history; only 119 copies remain, and all but a handful are in museums, libraries and universities. More