John James Audubon

This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored royal octavo lithograph entitled "The Cougar, Male", No. 20, Plate XCVI, 96 from Audubon's "Quadrupeds of North America". It was d...

An original rare and extremely collectible first edition John James Audubon hand colored royal octavo lithograph entitled "Black-throated Diver", No. 96, Plate 477, 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 three Black-throated Divers; an adult male (1), an adult female (2) and a young Diver (3). The male sits on the bank, while the young Diver floats in the water and the female watches...

American Crow by J.J. Audubon from his Birds of America folio shows an adult male crow in a Black Walnut bush with a nest of a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in a branch below the crow. This original chromolithograph plate no. 226 is in good condition with a repairable water mark in the image on the left side as can be seen in the photos. The ” Birds of America” by John James...

This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Trumpeter Swan, Adult", No. 77, Plate 382 from Audubon's "Birds of America, lit...

This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Mango Humming bird, 1. 2. Males. 3. Female. Bignonia grandifolia", No. 51, Plate 251 from Audubon's "Birds of America, lithographed, printed and colored by JT Bowen and published in Philadelphia between 1870-1871. The lithograph depicts an adult male hummingbird, labelled 1, in flight above a beautiful flowering plant, a Chinese Trumpet-vine. Another male, labeled 2, is perched on a flower on the left and a female, labelled 3, is perched on a flower on the right. This hand-colored Audubon bird octavo-size lithograph sheet measures 10.25" high by 6.75" wide. It is in excellent condition. The original text pages, 185-186, from Audubon's 19th century publication 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...

Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851) Title: "Snowy Heron" (Plate 374, No. 75) Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo Edition Year: 1840-1844 Medium: Original...

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...

Plate 16 No. 4-2 Black-winged hawk. Falco Dispar, Temm. Male 1. Female 2. Drawn from nature by J.J. Audubon, Chromolithy, Julius Bien, lithographer New York 1860 from Audubon's Birds of America. The “Birds of America” by John James...