print room: John James Audubon
Audubon octavo prints are plates taken from one of the octavo-sized editions of Audubon's work. For more information, visit our study page on the octavo birds. In our library, we have for sale some great books for octavo collectors, including the best book reproducing the art of the first octavo edition and the only book reproducing art from a complete later edition set. We also have a copy for sale of Ron Tyler's Audubon's Great National Work, one of the best reference books available on Audubon and the only one to provide in-depth treatment of the octavos. We have octavos from both the first octavo edition (1840-1844, the only edition personally supervised by Audubon) and from later editions (circa 1850s to 1870s, all issued after Audubon's death, some with the involvement of his sons, some without). Also available for purchase, we have a few intact first edition parts (fascicles). These are the booklets (containing plates and text) that were distributed to subscribers during the publishing of the first edition. Subscribers would collect 100 booklets, and then have their sets bound. See available fascicles. All octavo prints are hand-colored stone lithographs. All first edition plates and a small percentage of later edition plates are entirely hand-colored. Most later edition prints include a printed background (called a tint, usually beige or aqua, and often including an indication of clouds), but other than that, these prints are hand-colored. Print sizes vary, but are typically around 6-1/2 inches x 10-1/2 inches. We are always getting in new prints; feel free to let us know your wants. The prints here are illustrated with scans or digital photos. Variations in tone in the paper are typically due to shadow. All prints are guaranteed authentic. Please contact us for condition reports, scans or information on exact dimensions. Text is included if available. If we cannot include the original text for the plate, upon request we will provide a photocopy from a reprint edition of The Birds of America. We are also happy to prepare a Certficate of Authenticity at your request. Visit our ordering page to read about our guarantee, and for information on sales tax, shipping, and forms of payment. Many of our octavo prints were purchased already detached from their original volumes. For later edition prints, we often must rely on the dates provided by those who originally sold us the prints since there is generally no way to relate the prints to specific later editions. If we do not know the precise edition from which a print came, we give a likely range of dates. see first octavo edition bird prints see later octavo edition bird prints
Last updated 03.31.09 |
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