66 - Ivory-billed Woodpecker
SKU:
HE-66
$94,000.00
$87,000.00
$87,000.00
per item
Hand-colored engraving with aquatint and etching. Variant 1. Full sheet (~38 1/4" x 25 3/4") with J Whatman 1830 watermark.
This magnificent composition by Audubon shows the majestic male (with red crown) on the left side with two females, all scrutinizing the tempting bug on the tree branch! Audubon painted this image in Louisiana.
Audubon wrote: " The flight of this bird is graceful in the extreme, although seldom prolonged to more than a few hundred yards at a time, unless when it has to cross a large river, which it does in deep undulations, opening its wings at first to their full extent, and nearly closing them to renew the propelling impulse. The transit from one tree to another, even should the distance be as much as a hundred yards, is performed by a single sweep, and the bird appears as if merely swinging itself from the top of the one tree to that of the other, forming an elegantly curved line. At this moment all the beauty of the plumage is exhibited, and strikes the beholder with pleasure. It never utters any sound whilst on wing, unless during the love-season; but at all other times, no sooner has this bird alighted than its remarkable voice is heard, at almost every leap which it makes, whilst ascending against the upper parts of the trunk of a tree, or its highest branches. Its notes are clear, loud, and yet rather plaintive. They are heard at a considerable distance, perhaps half a mile, and resemble the false high note of a clarionet."
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker (nicknamed "the Lord God Bird" for its magnificent form), the largest of the American woodpeckers that was in abundance in the American South during Audubon's time, has long been thought of as extinct, in large part from the destruction of its natural habitat (swampy heavily-wooded bottomland forests), and from wanton hunting (at least in part as the ivory bills were highly prized as decorative ornaments). But in 2005, the prestigious journal Science reported a rather rare sighting of this endangered species in 2004 in eastern Arkansas (Science, Vol. 308, pp 1460-1462 (2005), and https://science.sciencemag.org/content/308/5727/1460). That report brought considerable excitement and rejoice among the lovers of birds, animals, and Nature. Though a few additional sightings in the heavily wooded forests along the Pearl River between Mississippi and Louisiana, and in the swamp lands of Florida panhandle were also reported, definitive photographic evidence is still lacking. Nevertheless, this image painted by Audubon while he was in Louisiana captures splendidly the beauty and details on this largest of our woodpeckers.
This magnificent composition by Audubon shows the majestic male (with red crown) on the left side with two females, all scrutinizing the tempting bug on the tree branch! Audubon painted this image in Louisiana.
Audubon wrote: " The flight of this bird is graceful in the extreme, although seldom prolonged to more than a few hundred yards at a time, unless when it has to cross a large river, which it does in deep undulations, opening its wings at first to their full extent, and nearly closing them to renew the propelling impulse. The transit from one tree to another, even should the distance be as much as a hundred yards, is performed by a single sweep, and the bird appears as if merely swinging itself from the top of the one tree to that of the other, forming an elegantly curved line. At this moment all the beauty of the plumage is exhibited, and strikes the beholder with pleasure. It never utters any sound whilst on wing, unless during the love-season; but at all other times, no sooner has this bird alighted than its remarkable voice is heard, at almost every leap which it makes, whilst ascending against the upper parts of the trunk of a tree, or its highest branches. Its notes are clear, loud, and yet rather plaintive. They are heard at a considerable distance, perhaps half a mile, and resemble the false high note of a clarionet."
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker (nicknamed "the Lord God Bird" for its magnificent form), the largest of the American woodpeckers that was in abundance in the American South during Audubon's time, has long been thought of as extinct, in large part from the destruction of its natural habitat (swampy heavily-wooded bottomland forests), and from wanton hunting (at least in part as the ivory bills were highly prized as decorative ornaments). But in 2005, the prestigious journal Science reported a rather rare sighting of this endangered species in 2004 in eastern Arkansas (Science, Vol. 308, pp 1460-1462 (2005), and https://science.sciencemag.org/content/308/5727/1460). That report brought considerable excitement and rejoice among the lovers of birds, animals, and Nature. Though a few additional sightings in the heavily wooded forests along the Pearl River between Mississippi and Louisiana, and in the swamp lands of Florida panhandle were also reported, definitive photographic evidence is still lacking. Nevertheless, this image painted by Audubon while he was in Louisiana captures splendidly the beauty and details on this largest of our woodpeckers.
1 available
66 - Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Hand-colored engraving with aquatint and etching. Variant 1.
Full sheet (~38 1/4" x 25 3/4") with J Whatman 1830 watermark.
The Havell edition prints are considered as the most desirable of all of Audubon's original art work. During the period 1827 to 1838, Audubon produced the images for his monumental "The Birds of America" (BOA) with the assistance of engravers William Lizars of Scotland for the first few prints and then with Robert Havell, Sr and Jr., in England. These are copper plate engravings (435 plates) printed on high quality wove paper with a watermark (either J. Whatman or J. Whatman Turkey Mill, followed by the year). These plates (commonly referred to as the "Havell Edition") are known for the exquisite and unsurpassed beauty and details in the images, and the fresh vibrant colors. Audubon printed only a small number of the full sets of the BOA (between 175 to 200 copies). Most of these full sets are in museums, and a few in private hands, with only a few loose prints available for purchase by the general public. In the 19th century, some of the owners of these original prints, understandably given the time period and not anticipating how rare Audubon's Havell prints would become, did not pay the utmost attention and care in preserving these precious copperplate engravings; as a result, some prints got trimmed right down to the platemarks (to save on framing expenses), or got destroyed due to exposure to the elements (bleaching from exposure to bright sunlight, smog, smoke etc), and didn't survive or retain the original pristine condition. The rarity of these Havell Edition prints becomes very quickly obvious especially when one is searching for a particular bird print - - they are very difficult to find indeed!
In the 2010 Sotheby's Auction, the Lord Hesketh 4-volume set of Audubon's The Birds of America sold for a record-breaking $11.5 million!
All the plates listed in this section are original full sheets with the Whatman watermark, unless otherwise noted in the description. Please ask for a detailed "Condition Report" for any particular print you might be interested in, before purchasing.
Full sheet (~38 1/4" x 25 3/4") with J Whatman 1830 watermark.
The Havell edition prints are considered as the most desirable of all of Audubon's original art work. During the period 1827 to 1838, Audubon produced the images for his monumental "The Birds of America" (BOA) with the assistance of engravers William Lizars of Scotland for the first few prints and then with Robert Havell, Sr and Jr., in England. These are copper plate engravings (435 plates) printed on high quality wove paper with a watermark (either J. Whatman or J. Whatman Turkey Mill, followed by the year). These plates (commonly referred to as the "Havell Edition") are known for the exquisite and unsurpassed beauty and details in the images, and the fresh vibrant colors. Audubon printed only a small number of the full sets of the BOA (between 175 to 200 copies). Most of these full sets are in museums, and a few in private hands, with only a few loose prints available for purchase by the general public. In the 19th century, some of the owners of these original prints, understandably given the time period and not anticipating how rare Audubon's Havell prints would become, did not pay the utmost attention and care in preserving these precious copperplate engravings; as a result, some prints got trimmed right down to the platemarks (to save on framing expenses), or got destroyed due to exposure to the elements (bleaching from exposure to bright sunlight, smog, smoke etc), and didn't survive or retain the original pristine condition. The rarity of these Havell Edition prints becomes very quickly obvious especially when one is searching for a particular bird print - - they are very difficult to find indeed!
In the 2010 Sotheby's Auction, the Lord Hesketh 4-volume set of Audubon's The Birds of America sold for a record-breaking $11.5 million!
All the plates listed in this section are original full sheets with the Whatman watermark, unless otherwise noted in the description. Please ask for a detailed "Condition Report" for any particular print you might be interested in, before purchasing.
