the study: royal octavo edition

the fascicles (parts) for The Birds of America

We now have available some of these very rare booklets for purchase in the print room.  See available fascicles

Due to the tremendous cost and time necessary to produce a book containing hand-colored plates, the selling of subscriptions was common practice in the 19th century.  As he had done with the Havell Edition, Audubon sold subscriptions to the Royal Octavo Edition of The Birds of America.  In the prospectus to this edition, Audubon stated

   The particulars of the plan of the work may be reduced to the following heads:

1. The size of the work is royal octavo, the paper being of the finest quality.
2. The Plates representing the Birds are correctly reduced from the original drawings, and are coloured in the most careful manner.
3. The work will appear in numbers, on the first and fifteenth of every month.
4. Each number will consist of Five Plates, accompanied with full descriptions of the habits and localities of the birds, their anatomy and digestive organs, (with occasionally wood cuts, representing the later,) and will be furnished to subscribers for one dollar, payable on delivery.
5. The work will be published in accordance with a scientific arrangement of the genera and species, and will complete the Ornithology of our country, it is believed, in the most perfect manner.

Each fascicle that was issued to the subscriber consisted of the following:

A wrapper (or cover) that was either blue or gray.  The front of this wrapper was designed to look like the title page of  the work.  The part number for that fascicle was inserted in ink in the upper left hand corner of the front cover.  On the earlier parts, the list of subscribers was printed on the two inside covers, while the back cover reproduced the prospectus.  Each part also contained letterpress.  This letterpress contained the descriptions of the birds presented in that part.

Front  cover of Part 4 including a list of Audubon's memberships in American and European honor societies.	Inside front cover of Part 4 lists the subscribers to the series.  Robert Havell of New York is listed in the right column as one of the subscribers.	Inside rear cover of Part 4 continues the subscribers list.  Note the top name on the left column.  John Bachman would become Audubon's co-author for his next work, The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America.

Since the text was continuous throughout a volume (each volume consisting of 14 to 16 parts), there are many instances where the text for a particular bird is not complete in that part but would be completed in the next part issued.  Parts 14, 28, 42, 56, 70, 84 and 100 also included a title page, half title, table of contents and a subscriber list for the volume completed by that part.  Each part included five beautifully executed hand-coloured  lithographic plates, which were inserted within the letterpress and had tissue guards to protect them.  The quality of the tissue guards varied tremendously, and in many cases have extensive browning which may affect the text and plates.  A complete part consists of the letterpress and five plates with tissue guards covered with a blue or gray wrapper.

Most subscribers had the 100 parts bound into seven volumes once edition was completed.  Generally, at the time of binding, the wrappers were removed and discarded.  Consequently, it is rare to find a part in its original wrappers.  In some cases, the subscriber had the wrappers bound along with the text and plates.  If you have occasion to come across one of these parts in its original wrapper, keep it intact as you have a very valuable and rare piece of Americana.  When you look at any individual octavo plate, you will see a number printed in the upper left-hand corner.  This number corresponds to the part number that contained that particular plate.

We now have available some of these very rare booklets for purchase in the print room.  See available fascicles

back to octavo birds area of the study

Last updated 02.28.09