John James Audubon

Night Heron Birds: An Original 19th C. Audubon Hand-colored Bird Lithograph

1870

This is an original 19th century 1st octavo edition John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "American Bittern, 1. Male 2. Female", No. 73, Plate 365 from Audubon's "Birds of America, lithographed, printed and colored by J. T. Bowen and published in Philadelphia between 1840-1844. It depicts male and female American Bittern birds standing on the ground, each looking in opposite directions. There is high grass in the background. This original 1st octavo edition hand-colored Audubon American Bittern lithograph is in excellent condition, other than a few tiny spots, which appear most likely inclusions related to the paper manufacture. The sheet measures 6.5" high by 10.25" wide. The original text pages, 94-98, from Audubon's 19th century publication are included with the lithograph. 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...

This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Reddish Egret, 1. Adult, Full Spring Plumage 2. Young in Full Spring Plumage Two Years Old", No. 75, Plate 371 from Audubon's "Birds of America, lithographed, printed and colored by J. T. Bowen and published in Philadelphia between 1870-1871. It depicts an adult reddish egret standing in the water with leg up, looking to the left at a young white egret standing on land looking to the right at the adult bird. A beautiful landscape is depicted. This original hand-colored Audubon egret...

This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored royal first octavo edition lithograph entitled "Semipalmated Snipe, Willet or Stone Curlew, 1. ...

This is an original rare and extremely collectible first octavo edition John James Audubon hand colored royal octavo lithograph entitled "Red-throated Diver", No. 96, Plate 478, from...

Antique print titled 'Ardea, Nycticorax'. This print depicts the black-crowned night heron with egg (Dutch: kwak). The black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), or black-cap...

Night Heron is a modern artwork realized in 1870 by the British artist Alexander Francis Lydon (1836-1917). Woodcut print on ivory-colored paper. Hand-colored, published by London,...

Heron Bihoreau - Black Crowned Night Heron French chromolithograph, published in 1931. Printed title lower right of sheet. Plate number top right. From a French series of illustrati...

Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851) Title: "American Anhinga - Snake Bird" (Plate 420, No. 84) 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" x 6.69" Image size: 6.63" x 4.63" Condition: Minor toning to sheet and some faint discoloration in margins. Old glue staining along right binding edge as normal. It is otherwise in very good condition with strong colors Notes: Provenance: private collection - Cleveland, OH. 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. The preceding 1836 Havell edition of this work has a different title: "Black-bellied Darter", (Plate: CCCXVI - 396, No. 64). Based on a drawing inscribed "New Orleans 1822 - redrawn ... 1836". This conspicuous bird had various names including "water turkey" and "Bec à Lancette". The Anhinga, sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word anhinga comes from a'ñinga in the Brazilian Tupi language and means "devil bird" or "snake bird". 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...