John James Audubon (1785-1851) was born in
San Domingo, Haiti, the son of a French naval captain and a
French servant girl. Audubon's real mother died shortly after
his birth. Young Audubon was sent to France where he was raised
by Capt. Audubon and his legal wife.
In order to avoid conscription by Napoleon, J.J. Audubon was
dispatched to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to oversee land owned
by his father. There he met and married Lucy Bakewell, who’s
lifelong support was critical to Audubon's success. In their
early years, Audubon did not do well in business. After many
years he finally attained fame as an artist.
Audubon and his wife traveled the U.S., as he studied and
painted wonderful life sized images of hundreds of birds.
Audubon went to Scotland and England and published his first
work, The Birds of America. These prints were chiefly
engraved and hand colored by Robert Havell Jr. They were printed
on "double elephant" folio sized sheets of watermarked J.
Whatman fine wove paper. From 1826-1838 these aquatint copper
plate engraved sheets, measuring about 26" x 39", and
beautifully hand colored, were issued in 87 sections of 5 prints
each. The complete set totaled 435. They were sold by
subscription, and the owners eventually bound them into 7
volumes. It is estimated that between 160-180 complete sets of
the first Birds of America were issued. Today about 110
complete sets survive, mainly in institutions. An unknown number
of partial bound sets and individual prints survive. They are
quite rare. The last complete bound set sold at auction for $8.8
million. Individual prints sell for thousands of dollars, with a
few fetching $100,000.00 or more.
The success of Audubon's first Birds of America
brought Audubon Worldwide fame. Following that success, he
returned to America and set out to issue a smaller version that
would include more birds (most newly discovered in the Western
U.S.). He decided on a 1/8 or octavo sized sheet measuring about
6-1/2" x 10". He called this set The Royal Octavo Edition of
Birds of America. The 1st Edition of 500 plates was
lithographed and hand colored by J.T. Bowen in Philadelphia and
New York from 1840-44. They were again sold by subscription, and
issued by species in 100 sets of 5 each. It is estimated that
from 1000-1200 complete sets were issued. No one knows how many
complete sets and individual prints survive today. They are very
popular and highly collectable. Today, a complete set in good
condition would sell for over $50,000.00 at auction. Individual
1st edition prints sell at dealer's galleries from $50-$100
each, on up to $2,000.00+, depending upon popularity.
The 1st Royal Octavo Edition of Birds of America was
completed under the direct supervision of J.J. Audubon. Up to
eight (8) later editions, some text only without plates, were
issued from 1856-1889. The most important of these editions
were: the 2nd (1856), the 3rd (1859), the 5th (1861), and the
6th (1865). An 1860 letterpress or text edition was issued
without plates to accompany the Bien Edition.
The 2nd and later editions are generally recognized by a
blue-green tint background on each plate, except those with
landscapes. The type on the credit lines at the bottom of the
later edition prints is generally bold face, as opposed to the
italics on most of the 1st edition. Today, dealer price lists
often list prices for the 1st octavo edition and then lump all
the later editions into one price list called "later editions",
with no distinction among them. Dealers with a large inventory
of a particular later edition will often sell them as later
edition, but give the year they were published.
Following the Birds of America Octavos, another Octavo
series featuring the Quadrupeds of North America was
first published from 1849-55 in 1st, 2nd and mixed editions.
There was a 3rd edition in 1856, and a 4th in 1870. It is
estimated that about 3500 complete sets of all 155 plates were
issued from 1849-55. The name of Audubon’s son, John W., appears
on many of the plates. J.T. Bowen was the main lithographer, but
Nagel and Weingaertner of New York were the lithographers of a
number of plates in Volume One. A number of artists, including
Trembly and Hitchcock, drew the designs on the lithograph stones
and signed their names on the plates.
Audubon died in 1851 before the complete 1st Edition of Quads
was completed. The Birds of America was issued as a seven
volume set, while the Quadrupeds of North America was a
three volume set.
Some of the above information excerpted from the Ron Tyler
book, Audubon's Great National Work. This book and
several other Audubon reference books, will go into greater
detail about the life of Audubon and the details of the various
editions of Birds of America and Quadrupeds of North
America. They are available at libraries throughout the
Country.
For Audubon
print prices, Price Guides and CDs go to -
http://www.audubonprices.com
Copyright (C)
2003 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Ron Flynn, 796 Holly Creek Dr., Holland, MI 49423
