Audubon Birds of America
First Octavo Edition
Prints by John James Audubon. From The Birds of America. Philadelphia: John Bowen, 1840-44. First edition. Royal octavo (sheet: ca. 6 1/2 x 10 1/4"). Lithograph. Original hand color. All in very good condition, except as noted.
Even as Audubon was seeing the last plates of the first edition of The Birds of America being finished, he was making plans for the publication of a smaller version. This royal octavo edition, first published in New York and Philadelphia in 1840-44, was such a success that seven editions followed it. These prints are not simply small replicas of the elephant folio edition. Only one species appears on each plate, and often the backgrounds are simplified. New species of birds and new plants appeared in this edition, and the birds are grouped in a more orderly scientific manner. For his pioneering travel around the United States in search of new subjects in the wild, his lifelike and dramatic style, and his monumental works on the birds and quadrupeds of North America, Audubon is, perhaps, also the greatest American natural history artist. Beginning in 1827, Audubon began to issue the prints for his monumental The Birds of America, which when completed ran to a total of 435 double elephant folio prints. Because of the continued strong demand for these prints, Audubon had smaller, octavo size editions of these prints issued.
The octavo edition of The Birds of America was produced with the same concern for quality and aesthetic appeal as the larger edition, resulting in a wonderful opportunity for the general public to own a part of Audubon's marvelous work.
- 8 "Harlan's Buzzard" $300
- 50 "Bank Swallow" $250
- 62 "Small Green-crested Flycatcher" [Illustrated at right] $225
- 64 "Wood Pewee Flycatcher." $225
- 65 "Traill's Flycatcher." $225
- 70 "Blue-grey Flycatcher." $250
- 71 "Hooded Flycatching Warbler." $350
- 91 "Blue yellow-backed Wood Warbler." $375
- 101 "Mourning Ground-Warbler." Two small smudges in margins. $300
- 107 "Golden winged Swamp Warbler." [Illustrated at left] $275
- 112 "Orange-crowned Swamp Warbler." $175
- 137 "American Dipper" $225
- 150 "American Pipit or Titlark." A few light spots. $150
- 151 "Shore Lark." $185
- 153 "Painted Lark Bunting." $200
- 157 "Townsend's Bunting." $150
- 178 "Mealy Redpoll Linnet." $185
- 187 "Brown Finch." $170
- 188 "Townsend's Finch." [Illustrated at right] $170
- 190 "Morton's Finch." A few light spots. $150
- 193 "Black-and-yellow-crowned Finch." $180
- 194 "Arctic Ground Finch." $225
- 202 "Prairie Lark Finch." $175
- 226 Fish Crow $350
- 228 Yellow-billed Magpie $275
- 235 Clarke's Nutcracker. With a spot at right edge. $175
- 239 "Solitary Vireo or Greenlet." $175
- 269 "Banded three toed Woodpecker." $200
- 275 "Yellow billed Cuckoo." Illustrated top left. $525
- 284 "Blue headed Ground Dove or Pigeon." $275
- 295 "Dusky Grouse." $275
- 297 "Cock of the Plains." Slight smudges. $300
- 299 "Willow Ptarmigan." [Illustrated at left.] $300
- 300 "American Ptarmigan." $275
- 301 "Rock Ptarmigan." Some smudging in upper right margin. $225
- 302 "White-tailed Ptarmigan." $250
- 305 "American Coot." $185
- 315 "Black bellied Plover." $185
- 316 "American Golden Plover." $180
- 318 "Rocky Mountain Plover." $185
- 322 "Townsend's Surf Bird." $225
- 328 "Red breasted Sandpiper." $225
- 340 "Hyperborean Phalarope." $200
- 341 "Wilson's Phalarope." $225
- 348 "Great Marbled Godwit." $200
- 365 "American Bittern." [Illustrated at right] $300
- 366 "Least Bittern." $325
- 372 "Blue Heron." (light mat burn) [Illustrated top right] $1,450
- 402 "Black or Surf Duck." $300
- 404 "King Duck." $400
- 405 "Eider Duck." $750
- 415 "Common Cormorant." Spot in upper right. $250
- 418 "Townsend's Cormorant." $175
- 421 "Frigate Pelican, Man of War Bird." $575
- 426 "Booby Gannet." $275
- 432 "Sooty Tern." $225
- 433 "Common Tern." $275
- 438 "Black Tern." $200
- 440 "Noddy Tern." $175
- 443 "Black headed Gull." $200
- 444 "Kittiwake Gull." $200
- 445 "Ivory Gull." $185
- 447 "White winged Silvery Gull $185
- 449 "Glaucous Gull, Burgomaster." $185
- 450 "Great Black backed Gull." $225
- 451 "Pomerine Jager." $175
- 454 "Dusky Albatross." $225
- 455 "Fulmar Petrel." $225
- 456 "Wandering Shearwater." $185
- 459 "Leach's Petrel, Fork-tailed Petrel." $225
- 460 "Wilson's Petrel, Mother Carey's chicken." $200
- 461 "Least Petrel, Mother Carey's chicken." $175
- 468 "Knobbed-billed Phaleris." [Illustrated at right.] $175
- 469 "Little Auk, Sea dove." $200
- 470 "Black throated Guillemot." $200
- 472 "Large-billed Guillemot." $175
- 473 "Foolish Guillemot Murre." $185
- 474 "Black Guillemot." $225
- 479 "Crested Grebe." $250
- 480 "Red-necked Grebe." $250
- 481 "Horned Grebe." $250
- 487 "Smith's Lark Bunting." $200
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