John James Audubon

This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Cat Squirrel, No. 4, Plate XVII", from John James Audubon's Quadrupeds of North America, published in Philade...

Original stone lithograph with hand-coloring from "The Quadrupeds of North America. Octavo Edition" by John James Audubon. Plate LXXXVI. P...

Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851) Title: "Roseate Spoonbill" (Plate 362, No. 73) 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: 6.75" x 10.44" Image size: 5" x 7.63" Condition: In excellent condition Very rare The "Roseate Spoonbill" is one of the very top, absolute most desirable birds from Audubon's famous "Birds of America" series Notes: Provenance: private collection - Fleming Island, FL. 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 in Florida in 1831 or 1832. "This beautiful and singular bird" was prized for its wings and tail feathers which were made into fans in St. Augustine. The roseate spoonbill is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. The roseate spoonbill's pink color is diet-derived, consisting of the carotenoid pigment canthaxanthin, like the American flamingo. 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...

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 Flamingo" (Plate 375, No. 75) Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo E...

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 octavo lithograph entitled "The Cougar, Male", No. 20, Plate XCVI, 96 from Audubon's "Quadrupeds of North America". It was d...

This is an original hand-colored folio edition John James Audubon engraving entitled "Esquimaux Curlew", Folio, Pl. CCVIII", No. 42, Plate 208, from Audubon's "Birds of America". It was engraved, printed and colored in London by Robert Havell, Jr. in 1834. It depicts a male and a female Esquimaux Curlew birds...