the study: Octavo Birds
Before discussing changes in plates over time it is important to define the terms "edition" and "state." We quote those provided on the American Historical Print Collectors Society's website. Edition is defined as "all the impressions published at the same time or as part of the same publishing event. A first edition print is one which was issued with the first published group of impressions." State is defined as "all the impressions pulled without any change being made to the matrix. A first state print is one of the first group of impressions pulled. Different states of a print can reflect intentional or accidental changes to the matrix." (In the case of Audubon octavos, the matrix is the lithographic stone.) Both definitions go on to distinguish between plates and editions by concluding, "There can be several editions of a print which are the same state, and there can be several states of a print in the same edition." Although there are nine known editions of the octavo Birds of America, we would guess that for most plates the total number of states would be considerably less than nine. The material directly below is based on a summary presented by Robert Braun in Identifying Audubon Bird Prints - Originals, States, Editions, Restrikes, and Facsimiles and Reproductions. Mr. Braun based his conclusions by examining Birds of America sets of various editions. This excellent article originally appeared in Imprint, the AHPCS journal, but was republished in 2001 in an expanded format with excellent color illustrations. It can be purchased through AHPCS's website. Braun's examination of first edition sets led him to conclude the following:
In his examination of later editions, Braun found that
Braun's rules-of-thumb are obviously helpful for deciding whether a plate is from the first edition or not, but it cannot help you determine which of the editions a later-state plate actually comes from. Tyler identifies specific changes in state for some plates over time; this information may help a collector pinpoint a specific edition or at least the earliest possible date for a given plate; collectors determined to date individual plates will need to do a great deal of their own research, probably requiring more time than is practical for most people. We have encountered over time quite a few prints that seem to be exceptions to Braun's rules of thumb. Collectors need to look at all evidence, not just focus on the fonts used for credits when deciding whether an isolated print is from a first or later edition. Commentary Most commentators seem to agree that the key element distinguishing the later edition plates from the first edition plates is the presence of a tinted background. Often these backgrounds result in an image of rectangular shape; for birds drawn within a landscape (particularly shore birds) the tint usually takes a different form, that of a cloudy sky lacking a sharply-defined boundary. The plates that often lack the tint, at least in the earlier of the later editions, include those that had a rectangular hand-colored background in their first state. These include Plates 19 Iceland or Gyr Falcon, Plate 28 Snowy Owl, Plate 34 Barn Owl, Plate 155 Snow Lark Bunting, Plate 301 Rock Ptarmigan, Plate 313 Whooping Crane, Plate 361 Wood Ibis, Plate 368 Great White Heron, Plate 370 Great American White Egret, Plate 374 Snowy Heron, Plate 414 White Merganser Smew, White Nun, Plate 422 White Pelican, Plate 427 Tropic Bird, Plate 431 Sandwich Tern, and Plate 436 Arctic Tern. Early states for these plates vary primarily in the appearance of legends and other text. The images tend to be similar (if not actually identical) to the first edition images. Over time, perhaps because of the Lockwood firm's involvement, these images evolved in appearance until, in later states, many became more consistent in background and overall look with the images that always included a tint For example, later states of Plate 361 Wood Ibis no longer show a dark sky. The old sky (composed of hand-coloring and dots of black ink) is replaced by the tinted background. This seems to have been accomplished by eliminating the background dots (which were applied using the lithographic stone) and substituting the tint for hand-coloring. This change can lessen the impact of some later edition plates when compared to their first edition counterparts. For example, we think Plate 19 Gyr Falcon and Plate 34 Barn Owl are much more dramatic when the birds are placed against the dark backgrounds of the early states versus the light backgrounds of later states. Beyond the plates just discussed, we believe many other plates undergo a similar evolution over time. We have not studied this issue systematically, but a collector we know has acquired two states of the Common Tern (Plate 433) with identical images (the tern against a stormy cloud background) with variations in the type used for printer and artist attributions (block in the plate our collector believes to be from a later edition and italics in the collector's first edition plate). We have seen later states of the Common Tern that include a light-colored cloud instead of the dark cloud; the light coloring of the cloud appears to have been produced using tint stone lithography rather than the hand-coloring and black ink dots found in the earlier states. We did a comparison of the plates found in two books (Thunder Bay Press's Audubon's Birds of America: The Royal Octavo Edition which reproduces a first edition set and Wellfleet Press's Audubon's Birds of North America - The Complete 500 Paintings which reproduces a later set, probably an 1870 Lockwood). Many, but not all, first edition images having black dots suggestive of clouds or other atmospheric effects, lack these dots in the later state. Perhaps the most notable exception to this evolution is the Snowy Owl, which (to the best of our knowledge) retains its lithographically applied background suggesting a night sky in all states. In the later state plates we have seen, however, the dots seem more crudely applied and the beautiful hand-coloring of the earlier states has been replaced by a tinted background, often beige, with a loss of impact. Braun's rules are not foolproof. We have found original plates and faithful reproductions of original plates that do not conform to the scheme. Most of the exceptions we found by studying the attributions shown in the book, Audubon's Birds of North America: the Complete 500 Paintings. We eventually inquired of the publisher, Wellfleet, and were told by Frank Oppel, the publishing director for the book, that it reproduces the first Lockwood edition. Unfortunately, Mr. Oppel could not recall the year with certainty, but we would guess it was the 1870 edition since that was the first edition that did not have one of the Audubons listed among the publishers. The plates were photographed and printed by Wellfleet without intentional modification. Among the interesting things we discovered by studying the Wellfleet book were that the plates in the reproduced set were all missing a part number. A few plates were missing artist's or printer's credit or both. Plates 159, 160, 180, and 341 had italic artist and printer credits. The first three of these plates had the usual later edition background tint, while Plate 341 appeared to lack the tint (it was hard to be sure). A comparison of this last plate with the first edition plates reproduced in The Art of Audubon: The Complete Birds and Mammal and Audubon's Birds of America - the Royal Octavo Edition show obvious differences in the image between the later and the first edition plates. If this plate lacked a tint, it was probably an oversight. We have a few quadruped plates in our 1851-1854 octavo set that lack the typical background tint; such omissions could have occurred with bird plates as well as with quad plates. Our own Plate 440 (Noddy Tern), sold to us as an 1870 Lockwood, has the appearance of a first edition plate including a painted rather than tinted sky; the only difference we can see between this state and the first state is the use of block letters rather than italics for artist and printer credits. Another interesting discovery in the Wellfleet book is the presence of several plates that list J. W. Audubon as the artist. We found this mistaken attribution on Plates 16 (Black-shouldered Elanus), 280 (White-headed Dove, or Pigeon), and 436 (Arctic Tern). In all cases it reads "Drawn from nature by J. W. Audubon." This text was confirmed on our own Plate 280, which was sold to us as an 1870 Lockwood. Since we reviewed the book, our friend Bill Steiner has located a Plate 16 from an 1861 edition in one of Cornell University libraries that includes the same credit to J. W. Audubon. In June 2001, we examined an 1860 set at an auction, and noticed that Plates 16 and 436 (but not Plate 280) had the J. W. Audubon credit. Unfortunately, we did not have time to examine all of the plates in this set. It may be that some others also have this error. In 2006, we examined an 1861 set of the octavo birds that included some prints that would normally be considered first editions if seen in isolation (no tinted background plus typical first edition fonts for artist/printer credits). The same set included prints with tints that were otherwise identical to first edition prints in terms of the italic fonts used for artist and printer credit. We take this as confirmation of the hypothesis that the Audubons were more concerned about using all prints they had at hand, not in making sure that prints of a given set or edition adhered to a uniform style. Many collectors focus on the use of italics versus block letters in the artist and printer credits. Although we think this is normally a reliable indicator of a plate's pedigree, we ourselves tend to stress the overall appearance of the plate in favor of an italics-oriented rule of thumb. The major visual difference between the first edition octavos and the later edition octavos, the addition of the tint, was originally adopted by the Audubons during the printing of the first edition of the octavo quadrupeds. The quads octavo project was not begun until after Audubon had suffered a stroke and had completely withdrawn from work. Apparently, Audubon's sons and the publishers who succeeded them never thought better of the decision to employ the tint. All octavo quad prints (with rare exceptions) have this tint, as do almost all subsequent octavo bird plates. Who originated the idea of the tint? Was it Victor or John? Was it Bowen? Or was it perhaps John James Audubon himself? To the best of our knowledge, nobody has ever documented the process by which this decision was taken. Perhaps the idea of the tint originated in discussions with Bowen at a time when the elder Audubon was still coherent and involved in the production of his works. Or perhaps some day we will discover that Audubon specifically vetoed the idea, and his sons took advantage of his incapacity to overrule him. Most likely, we will never know the true origins of this decision; it will be left to individuals to make their own judgments on whether the tint adds or detracts from the artistry and craft inherent to individual plates. As you gain experience as a collector, you will generally know a first edition plate when you see it. Learn to trust your instincts, and remember two things: if the print is beautiful and you enjoy it, its exact pedigree is probably not overly important. The Audubons themselves did not give much thought to editions, and some plates originally printed for the first edition inevitably ended up in later editions. If a plate LOOKS like a first edition, then it reflects the aesthetic judgments that John James Audubon made when the first edition was under preparation, no matter when it first went into circulation. Of course, if a plate is very expensive, the ability to establish its pedigree without doubt becomes much more important; if you have doubts, or the proof provided by the seller is inconclusive, we advise you to be cautious before completing any major purchase. back to octavo birds area of the study
Last updated 10.12.06 |
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