print room: John James Audubon
    The Birds of America - Reissued by J. W. Audubon
     folio prints from the Bien Edition, 1858-1860

The Bien Edition takes its name from printer Julius Bien of New York, a German immigrant who was among the pioneers in developing chromolithography (an early form of color printing) in the United States.  The project was conceived by John Woodhouse Audubon, the younger of the two Audubon sons, and was intended to help restore the family's ailing finances. John intended a full reissue of the 435 images of the Double Elephant Folio to include 44 parts, the typical part consisting of seven sheets of paper with ten images.  Poor economic conditions brought on by the Civil War forced a discontinuation of the project in 1860 after 15 parts had been issued.  It is not known how many complete or almost complete sets were issued, but most experts estimate the number to be between 75 and 100.

We have a nice selection of Bien Edition prints with fresh color and full margins in excess of 39 x 26 inches. Click the bird name for a photo. Please ask for more photos and condition information. Looking for a bird that you don't see here?  Please inquire --  we can locate the print for you.  

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PL 7 Red-tailed Hawk $5,000. Classic image of two hawks fighting over a rabbit.

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PL 45 Purple Martin $4,000.  Four birds with calabash.

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PL 217 Baltimore Oriole. $6,500.  Lovely image with hang nest in a blooming tulip poplar.

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PL 225 American Crow $6,500. The big and the small: portrait of one of our larger birds, its size contrasted with a tiny hummingbird nest. 

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PL 244 Yellow-breasted Chat. $5,000.  
Image popular for the beautiful botanical and its depiction of this species' distinctive displays.

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PL 331 Little Sandpiper (bottom) /  
PL 332 Buff-breasted Sandpiper (top) $1,750. 
Least and Buff-breasted Sandpipers with beautiful land and seascapes. 

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PL 252 Columbian Humming Bird (left) /  
PL 251 Mango Humming Bird (right) $3,800.
Anna's Hummingbird and Black-throated Mango with lovely botanicals by Maria Martin.

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PL 367 Green Heron. $5,000.  
Adult male pursues luna moth with 
young heron at right. 

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PL 364 Yellow-crowned Heron. $9,750.
Large birds against a sunset sky. Beautiful!

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 PL 423  Brown Pelican. SOLD
The state bird of Louisiana. 

For background information and articles on the Bien Edition, visit the Bien area of our study. 

see our Havell Edition prints

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Last updated 12.14.11