What are the Audubon originals?

"...there is nothing perfect but primitiveness, and my efforts at copying nature, like all other things attempted by us poor mortals, fall far short of the originals."  J.J. Audubon

From the foregoing, it is clear what Audubon himself viewed as originals.  But from the standpoint of the many Audubon prints and editions, which are original and which are reproduced?

In actuality, only two Audubon productions can technically be termed original. These two are the Audubon/ Havell Double Elephant Birds of America, and the Audubon/Bowen Imperial Quadrupeds. The rest are technically reproductions since these other Audubon productions, namely the Octavo birds, the Octavo Quadrupeds, and the Audubon/Biens, were reproduced from the original two. However, these later productions were nonetheless produced by Audubon or by his family and can also properly be termed originals.

One should not use the term 'Audubon originals' with regards to the watercolor studies now in the hands of the New-York Historical Society.  These were intermediate steps toward the publication of the Audubon/Havell double elephants. Many are in an unfinished state and were never meant for publication. Some have penciled instructions from Audubon to his engraver, Havell, and are clearly preparatory works.  In fact, even these are not technically Audubon originals, since Audubon employed the use of many assistants to compose even these studies, mainly the flora and background.  Only one composition, the Pinnated Grous, was done completely by Audubon's hand. Thus, it is best to term these as original watercolor studies.      

The intended and stated purpose of the unfinished watercolors was their use toward the then yet future publication of the Double Elephant folio of the Birds of America.  Havell took these watercolor studies, engraved and etched a reverse image of the compositions on polished copperplates, inked the plates, placed dampened paper upon them, and rolled them through the press about 200 times for each copperplate image. (433 watercolor studies resulted in 435 copperplate etchings, as two compositions were double.)  These images were then colored in an assembly line fashion, each artist having his own color to apply.  It is not known whether Audubon himself actually assisted in any of the actual engraving or coloring at all.  But he certainly supervised the work.  The finished result was about 200 prints for each of the 435 copperplate etchings.  These double elephant prints are properly termed Audubon originals. 

As stated earlier, the Bowen Imperials, the Octavo birds and quadrupeds, and the Biens, may also be termed Audubon originals, as they were produced for publication by Audubon or by his family.

Warren's Report on the Birds of Pennsylvania (1890) contains reproductions of the octavos.  These are not Audubon originals.

Amsterdams (1972) are not originals, and neither is it proper to term them as a second Audubon edition. 

For more information, see Audubon Print Primer