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John James Audubon
Great White Heron /// John James Audubon Ornithology Shorebird Key West Florida

1840-1844

$1,500
£1,146.84
€1,313.98
CA$2,115.76
A$2,303.52
CHF 1,230.01
MX$27,807.14
NOK 15,463.40
SEK 14,382.77
DKK 9,814.80

About the Item

Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851) Title: "Great White Heron" (Plate 368, No. 74) 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: 6.82" x 10.44" Image size: 5.38" x 8.38" Condition: Light toning to sheet. One tiny tear to upper center edge and one small light area of discoloration upper left in margin. In otherwise good condition Rare 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. The left, top, and right edges are gold gilded. Based on a composition painted in Key West, Florida on May 26, 1832. Edward Dwight explained that: "Audubon saw the great white heron for the first time in the Florida Keys, where he caught several alive. They survived well in captivity, and he took several to Charleston as a gift for his friend the Reverend Bachman. The herons, however, did not prove to be ideal pets: 'It was difficult to procure fish enough for them, as they swallowed a bucketful of mullets in a few minutes, each devouring about a gallon ... they would frequently set, like pointer dogs, at moths which hovered over the flowers, and with a well directed stroke of their bill seize the fluttering insect and instantly swallow it. On many occasions, they also struck at a chicken, grown fowls and ducks, which they would tear up and devour. Once a cat which was asleep in the sunshine, on the wooden steps of the veranda, was pinned through the body to the boards, and killed by one of them.' When a heron turned on one of the young children, Bachman, his patience exhausted, ordered the birds killed." The great egret, also known as the common egret, large egret, great white egret, or great white heron, is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. Recently, it has also been spreading to more northern areas of Europe. 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: 6.82 in (17.33 cm)Width: 10.44 in (26.52 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Saint Augustine, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU121217296382

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Roseate Spoonbill /// John James Audubon Natural History Ornithology Water Bird
By John James Audubon
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
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...
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