The World's Only Direct-camera Audubon Quadruped Re-creations.

Ocelot, Plate # 86, limited edition of 750, 22" x 28", Southart/Parkway Series, $350

Toward the end of his life, Audubon endeavored to depict all the known species of North American mammals.  These were published in three sets by J. Bowen between 1845 and 1848.  Known in the trade as the Imperials, his detailed images measured 22 x 28 inches.  We have produced same size facsimiles of these engravings, using the fine originals from the Princeton University collection.  These reproductions, as with our Birds of America reproductions, are direct-camera prints.  They represent the first successful attempt to reproduce directly from the actual antique originals, instead of reproducing a mere photograph of an original.  The 100% rag, acid-free Somerset archival paper is imported from England, and has the tone and texture of the originals.

OCELOT, OR LEOPARD-CAT – PLATE LXXXVI

Felis pardalis

“The activity and grace of the Leopard cat, are equal to the beauty of its fur, and it leaps with ease amid the branches of the trees or runs with swiftness on the ground,” wrote Audubon about this most beautiful of American felines.

            Every ocelot has a unique pattern with a mix of black specks, spots, rosettes, and short strips on its tawny golden-yellow fur. Twice the size of a house cat, this endangered tropical feline will eat a variety of small rodents and birds, raid birds’ nests, and even eat a sleeping monkey if caught unawares. As depicted here, it has also been known to catch fish, frogs and turtles in shallow streams, ponds, and marshes.