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How do you tell if an Audubon print is an original?

1 Answer
How do you tell if an Audubon print is an original?
To tell if an Audubon print is an original, research the print using trusted online resources and print catalogues available in many libraries. Learn about the watermark, plate mark, sheet dimensions, paper type, plate marks and signatures found on authentic prints from the series. Then, use this information to evaluate your print. Alternatively, you can have a certified appraiser or knowledgeable art dealer authenticate your print. Find a selection of John James Audubon prints on 1stDibs.
1stDibs ExpertAugust 29, 2024
Shop for John James Audubon Art on 1stDibs
Golden Eagle: An Original 19th C. Audubon Hand-colored Bird Lithograph
By John James Audubon
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Golden Eagle", No. 3, Plate 12 from Audubon's "Birds of America, lithographed, printed and colored by JT Bowe...
Category

Late 19th Century Naturalistic Animal Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Brown Pelican: An Original Audubon 1st Edition Hand-colored Bird Lithograph
By John James Audubon
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original rare and extremely collectible first octavo edition John James Audubon hand colored lithograph entitled "Brown Pelican, Young First Winter", No. 85, Plate 424, fr...
Category

Mid-18th Century Naturalistic Animal Prints

Materials

Lithograph

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" Reference: Ayer/Zimmer page 22; Bennett page 5; McGill/Wood page 208; Nissen No. IVB 51; Reese No. 34; Sabin No. 2364; Tyler App. I 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...
Category

1840s Victorian Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Lithograph

Great White Heron /// John James Audubon Ornithology Shorebird Key West Florida
By John James Audubon
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
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: O...
Category

1840s Victorian Animal Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Lithograph

Common or Arctic Puffin
By John James Audubon
Located in New York, NY
Original stone lithograph with hand-coloring from "Birds of North America." First Octavo Edition, by John James Audubon. Plate 383. Philadelphia, J.T. Bowen, ca. 1839-44.
Category

1870s Animal Prints

Materials

Paper

Raccoon by Audubon
By John James Audubon
Located in New York, NY
Original stone lithograph with hand-coloring from "The Quadrupeds of North America. Octavo Edition" by John James Audubon. Plate LXI. Phil...
Category

1850s Animal Prints

Materials

Paper

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