Indiana Historical Society's Audubon books sell for $3.77 million

The auction scene was, in the words on a keenly interested observer, what you might expect: A group of 12 or 15 people seated in a room with the auction items on display. The bidding started low — nervously low for the seller — and then pushed up, up, upward with each new bid until it became clear this was going to be a rewarding exercise.

That was the scene Tuesday in New York at Sotheby's auction house when the Indiana Historical Society put two rare sets of original watercolor drawings by John James Audubon up for bids. The result was quite a windfall: $3.77-million for two items the society originally purchased for $4,900.

"It's a great day," said John A. Herbst, President and CEO of the Indiana Historical Society, who witnessed the auction and described the drama.

The auction took less than 30 minutes to dispense with a pair of items that had been in the Society's care for 81 years in the case of "The Birds of North America" and 63 years in the case of "Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America."