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John James Audubon
Key-West Dove /// Ornithology Bird John James Audubon Shorebird Flowers Plant

1840-1844

About the Item

Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851) Title: "Key-West Dove" (Plate 282, No. 57) Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo Edition Year: 1840-1844 Medium: Original Hand-Colored Lithograph on wove paper Limited edition: approx. 1,200 Printer: John T. Bowen, Philadelphia, PA Publisher: John James Audubon and J.B. Chevalier, New York, NY and Philadelphia, PA Sheet size: 6.5" x 10.25" Image size: 4.13" x 6.5" Condition: Mild toning and faint offsetting to sheet. In otherwise good condition with strong colors Notes: Provenance: private collection - Monroe, LA. Lithography and hand-coloring by American artist John T. Bowen (1801-c.1856). Comes from Audubon's famous seven volume portfolio "The Birds of America", First Royal Octavo Edition (1840-1844), which consists of 500 hand-colored lithographs. Based on a composition painted near Key West in May, 1832. Audubon described how an American soldier, who was acting as his guide, shot one these birds the artist had never seen alive: "How I gazed on its resplendent plumage! ... I handled it, turned it, examined its feathers and form ... its legs and claws, weighed it by estimate, and after a while formed a winding sheet for it of a piece of paper. Did ever an Egyptian pharamacopolist employ more care in embalming the most illustrious of the Pharaohs, than I did in trying to preserve from injury this most beautiful of the woodland cooers!" The Key West quail-dove is a species of bird from the doves and pigeon family Columbidae. It is probably most closely related to the bridled quail-dove. To make 'The Birds of America' more affordable and widely available, in 1839 John James Audubon began the first octavo edition, a smaller version of the folio which was printed and hand-colored by J. T. Bowen in Philadelphia. Employing a new invention, the camera lucida, the images were reduced in size, rendered in intermediate drawings by John James Audubon and his son John Woodhouse, and then drawn onto lithographic stones. These miniatures exhibit a remarkable amount of attention to quality and detail, as well as a meticulous fidelity to the larger works. Some compositional changes were made in order to accommodate the smaller format. Like the Havell edition, John James Audubon’s first octavo edition was sold by subscription and distributed in parts, five at a time. However, the octavo editions were issued in proper phylogenic, or species order. These prints also bear the plate number in the upper right-hand corner and the subscription number in the upper left. The first edition of approximately 1,200 sets was completed in five years from 1839 to 1844. A total of 500 images comprise the First Royal Octavo Edition. Biography: John James Audubon (April 26, 1785, Les Cayes, Saint-Domingue (later Haiti) – January 27, 1851 (aged 65) Manhattan, New York, U.S.), born Jean-Jacques Audubon, was an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats. His major work, a color-plate book entitled The Birds of America (1827–1839), is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. Audubon identified 25 new species.
  • Creator:
    John James Audubon (1785-1851, American, French)
  • Creation Year:
    1840-1844
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 6.5 in (16.51 cm)Width: 10.25 in (26.04 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Saint Augustine, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU121210886002

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Herring or Silvery Gull /// Ornithology Bird John James Audubon Seascape Beach
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Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851) Title: "Herring or Silvery Gull" (Plate 448, No. 90) Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo Edition Year: 1840-1844 Medi...
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Glaucus Gull - Burgomaster /// Ornithology Bird John James Audubon Seascape Sky
By John James Audubon
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851) Title: "Glaucus Gull - Burgomaster" (Plate 449, No. 90) Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo Edition...
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Booby Gannet /// Ornithology Bird Art John James Audubon Florida Keys Seascape
By John James Audubon
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851) Title: "Booby Gannet" (Plate 426, No. 86) Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo Edition Year: 1840-1844 Medium: Original Hand-Colored Lithograph on wove paper Limited edition: approx. 1,200 Printer: John T. Bowen, Philadelphia, PA Publisher: John James Audubon and J.B. Chevalier, New York, NY and Philadelphia, PA Sheet size: 10.38" x 6.75" Image size: 5.94" x 5.5" Condition: Two small tears at top edge. In otherwise excellent condition with strong colors Notes: Provenance: private collection - Seattle, WA. Lithography and hand-coloring by American artist John T. Bowen (1801-c.1856). Comes from Audubon's famous seven volume portfolio "The Birds of America", First Royal Octavo Edition (1840-1844), which consists of 500 hand-colored lithographs. Based on a composition painted May 14, 1832. Audubon wrote: "I am unable to find a good reason for those who have chosen to call these birds 'boobies'. Authors, it is true, generally represent them as extremely stupid; but to me the word is utterly inapplicable to any bird with which I am acquainted". The view of the Florida Keys is based on a drawing by George Lehman. The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulids, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The 10 species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus Sula. To make 'The Birds of America' more affordable and widely available, in 1839 John James Audubon began the first octavo edition, a smaller version of the folio which was printed and hand-colored by J. T. Bowen in Philadelphia. Employing a new invention, the camera lucida, the images were reduced in size, rendered in intermediate drawings by John James Audubon and his son John Woodhouse, and then drawn onto lithographic stones. These miniatures exhibit a remarkable amount of attention to quality and detail, as well as a meticulous fidelity to the larger works. Some compositional changes were made in order to accommodate the smaller format. Like the Havell edition, John James Audubon’s first...
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Grus Cinerea (Common Crane) /// John Gould Ornithology Bird Animal Lithograph
By John Gould
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: John Gould (English, 1804-1881) Title: "Grus Cinerea (Common Crane)" (Vol. 4, Plate 19) Portfolio: The Birds of Great Britain Year: 1862-1873 Medium: Original Hand-Colored Lithograph on wove paper Limited edition: approx. 750 Printer: Walter or Walter & Cohn, London, UK Publisher: Taylor and Francis, John Gould, London, UK Reference: Sauer No. 23; Ayer/Zimmer page 261; Wood page 365; Nissen No. IVB 372; Sitwell page 78 Sheet size: 14.75" x 21.57" Image size: 12.75" x 20.13" Condition: Has been professionally stored away for decades. In excellent condition with strong colors Notes: Provenance: private collection - Aspen, CO. Lithography and hand-coloring by German artist Joseph Wolf (1820-1899) and Irish artist William Hart (1830-1908). Comes from Gould's five volume "The Birds of Great Britain", (1862-1873) (First edition), which consists of 367 hand-colored lithographs. Other contributing lithographers were John Gould and English artist Henry Constantine Richter (1821-1902). "The Birds of Great Britain" is recognized as Gould's greatest work. Gold gilded edges as issued. The common crane, also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane and the Siberian crane that only are regular in the far eastern part of the continent. Biography: John Gould FRS (14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist and bird artist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates that he produced with the assistance of his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists including Edward Lear, Henry Constantine Richter, Joseph Wolf and William Matthew Hart. He has been considered the father of bird study in Australia and the Gould League in Australia is named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Gould's work is referenced in Charles Darwin's book, "On the Origin of Species".
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