the study

    Audubon prints: plate marks

This is a subsection of a larger discussion on Audubon prints.  The information presented here is not sufficient for authenticating a print.  To begin from the beginning, please read the overview.

Here is the lower right corner of the plate mark from Havell Plate 210, Least Bittern.

Roughly speaking, you can assume the following measurements for plate marks:

  • LARGE -- 37-39 inches x 25-27 inches.  Images ending in 1 or 6.
  • MEDIUM -- 25-27 inches x 20-22 inches.  Images ending in 2 or 7.
  • SMALL -- 19-21 inches x 12-15 inches.  Images ending in other numbers.
There are exceptions to these dimensions, but the great majority of plates are covered by these ranges.  If you would like plate dimensions for specific prints, you may want to purchase from us a copy of Susanne Low's wonderful book, A Guide to Audubon's Birds of America.

A plate mark by itself is not proof that a print is an "original," that is, a print done under the supervision of the artist, or (in Audubon's case) the artist's sons by virtue of their being Audubon's collaborators.  At least one series of reproductions, that of the History Institute of America, involved the use of newly-made plates, although the plates were reduced somewhat from the original sizes.  In addition, several of Havell's copper plates have been used in the 20th century to pull new prints.  Such prints are called "restrikes."  The AHPCS Dictionary of Printmaking Terms defines a restrike as "a print produced from the matrix of an original print, but was not printed as part of the original publishing venture or as part of a connected, subsequent publishing venture. A restrike is a later impression from an unrelated publishing project."

According to information from Waldemar Fries (as modified by Susanne Low in Modern Reproductions and Restrikes of John James Audubon's Birds of America/The Double Elephant Folio, Department of Ornithology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, 1999), those copper plates known to have been used for restrikes include

  •  Hutchins's Barnacle Goose (Pl. 277).  Distributed in 1958 to members of the American Ornithologists Union.  A long-time Audubon dealer told me that he has seen both colored and uncolored versions of this restrike, but Low says the prints were distributed without coloring.  We have one of the uncolored prints, and it is clearly marked as being a restrike.
  • Hudson's Bay Titmouse (Pl. 194) and Swamp Sparrow (Pl. 64).  Prints were hand-colored and sold by the New York Botanical Garden in 1968 to its members or distributed to select institutions and individuals as gifts.  In total, three hundred copies of each print was made on paper that measured 26 x 16-7/8 inches.  Audubon collector and author, Bill Steiner, owns an uncolored copy of this print.  He describes it in detail in his book Audubon Art Prints (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003).
  • Blue Jay (Pl. 102).  Distributed to friends by the plate's then-owner Alonzo Boardman of Augusta GA, prior to his donation of the plate in 1962 to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  Apparently uncolored when distributed, it is conceivable that some recipients would have had their prints colored.  Low could not confirm this information.

In addition to the restrikes described above, Low discusses two more restrike projects.  In 1985, the Museum of Natural History, in conjunction with Alecto Historical Editions, issued a set of limited edition restrikes of six major prints.  These included the Wild Turkey (Pl. 1), the Wild Turkey Hen (Pl. 6), the Snowy Owl (Pl. 121), the Canada Goose (Pl. 201), the Mallard (Pl. 221), and the Great White Heron (Pl. 281).  These restrikes are unusual in that they were done "à la poupée," that is with different colors of ink being applied directly onto the plate.  Such prints may have hand-coloring added as "touch-up."  According to Low, a total of 146 sets were completed on paper measuring 43-1/2 inches by 29-1/2 inches and stamped on the back "American Museum of Natural History."

The second project Low describes was a restrike of Plate 434 (six species including Little Tyrant Flycatcher, Short-legged Pewee, Rocky Mountain Flycatcher, Blue Mountain Warbler, Bartram's Vireo, and Small-headed Flycatcher).  The plate is owned by Princeton University Library, and was used by students to pull 50 plates in 1984.  These prints were hand-colored by a single student, then sold or otherwise distributed.  All prints were blind stamped with the imprint of Pynson Printers (the name of the student press at Princeton).

For more information on restrikes, and how you might distinguish them from original prints, you may wish to review Robert Braun's excellent publication, Identifying Audubon Bird Prints. 

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Last updated 09.05.05