George Edwards

Hand-Colored Swan Engraving

1746

Original engraving, hand-colored at the time of publication, after the work of George Edwards from "Sammlung verschneider auslandischer und seltener Vogel" by Johann Michael Seligma...

Plate CCCI, Canvas Backed Duck, posthumous reproduction after John James Audubon from The Birds of America, the Amsterdam Edition, printed in Amsterdam, 1971-73. Original multicolored photo-offset print. "G Schut and Zonen" watermark at lower edge of paper. A facsimile from the double-elephant folio...

Original stone lithograph with hand-coloring from "Birds of North America." First Octavo Edition, by John James Audubon. Plate 383. Philadelphia, J.T. Bowen, ca. 1839-44.

Original hand colored engraving from "Dictionnaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle." Paris, 1849. Sheet size: 6" w x 6" h. Displayed in a custom, archival gray mat.

This is an original rare and extremely collectible 1st royal octavo edition John James Audubon hand-colored royal octavo lithograph entitled "American Swan", No. 77, Plate 384, from Audubon's "Birds of America". It was lithographed, printed and colored by J. T. Bowen and published in Philadelphia between 1840-1844. It depicts an adult white American Swan swimming in a body of water. Plants with yellow flowers are in the foreground and hills are in the background. This original rare first edition hand-colored Audubon bird lithograph has a mildly wavy lower edge of the paper where it was previously bound. It is otherwise in excellent condition. The sheet measures 6.63" x 10.13". The original text pages 226-234 are included. John James Audubon (1785-1851) was a naturalist and artist. He was initially unsuccessful financially prior to the publication of his famous work “The Birds of America”, spending time in debtor’s prison, once stabbing a disgruntled investor in self-defense. However, his obsession with birds and art motivated him to persist in his goal of documenting every bird in America via his watercolor paintings and publishing his works for all to enjoy. Audubon's first illustrations were published in a large elephant folio size. Due to their expense they were purchased in rather small numbers by the wealthy. To reach a larger audience, Audubon, with the help of his sons and J. T. Bowen, published a smaller octavo sized lithograph version, which were much more affordable. With the success of his bird projects, Audubon then turned his attention to four-legged animals. He explored the Missouri River in 1843 sketching the four-legged animals he encountered in their natural setting. His expedition covered some of the same regions recently explored by Lewis and Clark, traveling from present day Alaska to Mexico. Audubon realized that this was an opportunity to document these animals in the still relatively pristine American wilderness, before man encroached on their environment. Between 1845 and 1848, Audubon and his sons John Woodhouse Audubon and Victor Gifford Audubon produced a set of elephant folio sized lithographs that were primarily engraved and hand colored by J. T. Bowen in Philadelphia. The publication, which included text descriptions of the animals was published 3 years before Audubon died. As with the birds, this was followed by a three-volume set of 155 octavo-sized plates entitled “The Quadrupeds of North America” completed and published by Audubon’s sons, John, Jr. and Victor. Audubon prints continue to be popular and a wise investment. The double elephant folio set...

George Edwards: ""A History of Uncommon Birds"", 1749-1761. A prominent English naturalist and ornithologist, George Edwards (1694 -1773) is best known for his work, ""A Natural His...

Great image of swans. Unframed. It gives you the option of perhaps making a set up using your own choice of frames. Lithograph after Cpt. brown with original hand color. Published...

Bewick's Swan is a modern artwork realized in 1870 by the British artist Alexander Francis Lydon (1836-1917) . Woodcut print, hand colored, published by London, Bell & Sons, 1870....