Audubon Octavo First and Later Edition Bird Prints
When the monumental masterpiece, the double elephant folio (~ 39 1/2" x 26 1/2" in size) Havell edition of The Birds of America (BOA) was published by John James Audubon, because of its prohibitive expense, its sales were pretty much limited to the very wealthy in the Society such the Lords, Dukes, Queen Adelaide, etc and major Art Museums and Universities etc. It was beyond the reach of the common man. Thus, soon after, Audubon decided to produce a much more affordable edition of his Birds of America that can be enjoyed by a wider segment of the society, while also generating enough income to support his family. The result was "The Royal Octavo Edition of The Birds of America" (1840-1871). These are hand-colored stone lithographs (500 plates), about 10" x 6.5" in size, produced from the larger Havell images using the Camera Lucida. For the intriguing story behind this edition, the reader is referred to the excellent book, "Audubon's Great National Work, The Royal Octavo Edition of The Birds Of America", by Ron Tyler. In this gallery, we list the plates from the Octavo First Edition (1840-1844) and six Later Editions (1856-1871). These all are hand-colored stone lithographs, and include several rare and highly sought-after "upper tier prints".
The Octavo prints will be shipped by USPS Priority Mail or FedEx Express. Please contact us if interested in any of these original Octavo Edition prints.
The Octavo prints will be shipped by USPS Priority Mail or FedEx Express. Please contact us if interested in any of these original Octavo Edition prints.
