Audubon Print Abbreviations & Numbering

"I am feted, feasted, elected honorary member of societies, making money by my exhibition and by my painting."  John James Audubon

Many have wondered about the abbreviations appearing on the lower edge of Audubon prints, and by the system of numbering for various editions of Audubon prints.  The following may be helpful.

Abbreviations

M.W.S.  (Member of the Wernerian Society)

F.R.S.E.  (Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh)

F.L.S.  (Fellow of the Linnean Society)

F.R.S. (Fellow of the Royal Society)

Explanation of print numbering

(Double elephant folio)

You will find two numbers on each Audubon print, one at the top left and another at the top right.  What do these signify?

Audubon, Lizars, and Havell produced about 200 engravings each of 435 different images.  These engravings were released to the public in sets (also called 'numbers') of five prints each.  There were 87 different sets (or numbers) of five prints each that were required to publish all 435 prints.  These sets usually contained one large bird, one medium size , and three smaller birds.  The five birds in any one set would have the same set number.  It is thus a group number. Therefore, the number found usually in the upper left corner of each print is the group number for every bird print released in that particular set of five. 

The number usually found in the upper right hand corner is the individual plate number, from 1 to 435, and it is most often in Roman numerals.

You will sometimes find much smaller numbers, such as 1 or 2, immediately next to a bird on many prints.  These correspond to the same number shown in the script area below the image and designates the sex or if the bird is an adult or immature.