GREAT AMERICAN HEN  (American Turkey Female)      We  are offering for sale one of the earliest prints of the Great American Hen and Young.  This full sized, double elephant folio, sheet is believed to have been printed in the engraving shop of Wm. Lizars in Edinburgh and carried by Audubon to London where it was colored by R. Havell Sr. (following the failure of the colorists employed by Wm. Lizars to complete early production requirements of the second number While JJ Audubon  and the Havell’s were negotiating to engrave and color the remaining  425+ plates to complete the “Birds of America”, R. Havell Senior agreed to color enough sheets of the second number to fill the few subscriptions already sold.   (As you know, Lizars, in Edinburgh, engraved the first number (Plates I to V), and then couldn’t complete the second number (Plates VI to X) on schedule due to a strike by his colorists...forcing Audubon to London to seek out the Havell's).  When the Havell’s took over the commission, R Havell Jr made changes to the plate for the later sheets produced. This print pre-dates those changes. The complete watermark can be seen on the print: J Whatman Turkey Mill 1827.   This print has been through initial restoration and preservation by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, in Philadelphia.  It had been laid down, needed cleaning and had margin tears. It's so rare a print however, that it was worth the effort to stabilize and then restore the print.  CCAHA has removed it from the board to which it was attached, neutralized the paper, cleaned the print and sealed all margin tears. A longer tear (approx. 5”) running horizontally below the breast of the adult and above the chicks was also repaired. The color is very bright and did not need conservation.   Some margin paper was missing in the top right corner of the sheet (above the head) and also missing from behind the tail along the left margin.  A small notch of paper was also missing from the lower left margin (which included the first three letters of the word “Drawn”).   The CCAHA restoration included addition of paper at the site of each of these  voids.  We have taken great care to stabilize the print without “erasing” through over-conservation, age blemishes associated with this print.  A CD is available that documents the restoration by CCAHA, and they would execute additional work should the purchaser have interest in further restoration. This is truly a beautiful, intriguing and important early piece for a collector of rare works.

Priced at:  $35,000.       

Full Sheet Size with top border (original binding edge) cut along a slight arc (widest point at center). Earliest numbering format with both the number and plate clustered at top center of sheet:     

The sheet pre-dates the additions/alterations made by R. Havell, Jr:  There is no snail in front of chicks.