Absolutely. Return prints for any reason in original packaging within 14 days of their delivery for a complete refund, less shipping.

Most orders, such as the Princeton Audubon Double Elephant Edition and the Princeton Audubon Fine Art Edition, and the Essex New-York Historical Society Edition, the Princeton Audubon Baby Elephant Edition, and the Lord-Hopkins originals are shipped the day following your order. Rare-Prints orders may take a few days to a week before shipping. $20 domestic USPS Priority Mail 2Day shipping. Free domestic shipping on orders $500 or more, not including original Havells and Imperials which are shipped at actual cost and may take several days to process and pack. Most original octavos ship the Monday following your order.

International shipping to Australia, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, St. Martin, Switzerland, United Kingdom, U.S. Outlying Islands, British Virgin Islands, Austria will be the actual cost determined when processing order. You may email us for an estimate. We ship worldwide.

Please call us with any questions or special requests. 908.510.1621.

We ship our prints in heavy art mailing tubes - the safest way to ship fine art. You may open either end and carefully pull out the wrapped print. Remove the tape and gently unroll the print. Always lift a print from the two top corners.  

If you wish, we can ship the print(s) directly to your framer.

We do not frame our prints. They are shipped to you or to your framer is a heavy art mailing tube. We suggest you give the framer a picture of the room where the framed print will be displayed so that he can match not only the print but the decor. An accent lamp adds to the beauty of your display,

Please note these examples of our prints after framing.

Of course, you may choose any local framer and tell them you desire conservation or archival framing. Such framing ensures that nothing acidic comes in contact with the print.

Yes. Are you interested in consigning your original Audubon prints to Princeton Audubon? Call us at 908-510-1621 or email us at princetonaudubonprints@gmail.com or sign into your google sheets account and simply use this form. Describe your print or collection and add photos. Include the part number from the top left and the plate number (usually in Roman numerals) from the top right. Include the name and the measurements of the prints, length and width. If your print is framed, measure from the inside edges of the frame, length and width. Do not measure only the visible area within the matting. There are no other fees or charges. If we accept your print(s) our maximum commission is 25%. We will at that time ask for (1) any provenance available, such as previous owners (if known) before you acquired it, and (2) high-quality photos of print, front and back. Octavos and Imperials need only one photo of the front and back. Havells require five photos of both the front and back - one showing the entire print and one of the top right quarter, one of the top left quarter, one of the bottom right quarter, and one of the bottom left quarter. Additionally, take a photo of the watermark on the back of Havells. Please call us if you need assistance. We generally have the owner (you) keeping physical custody of the prints until we receive the funds. We can assist you in proper storage of the prints.

Originally from Princeton New Jersey, we now are located in Jacksonville Florida. We do not have a bricks and mortar store, but will gladly meet travelers and locals by appointment. You can see our prints in several museums around the country, such as The New-York Historical Society and the Key West Audubon House.

Thank you, but no. Although some modern editions present themselves as originals, the actual originals were produced in the nineteenth century by Audubon and his family. Princetons are often mistaken as originals since they are the world's only direct camera re-creations. But most of our prints have the edition number penciled in under the script at lower left, denoting that they are not originals but part of a limited edition.

Princetons are absolutely exact documents of the actual originals, and often confused as such. How can I tell that my print is an authentic Princeton and not an Audubon original? 

Being direct camera productions, Princetons have the same appearance of the Originals. They also have the same size and a similar feel of the originals. Side by side you cannot tell the difference with the naked eye. However, most Princetons sold from our offices have the embossed Princeton seal at the lower right and the edition number penciled in at the lower left. 

The paper is Mohawk Superfine Cover Stock which is specially toned to match the average tone of the existing originals and is recommended by The Library of Congress for archives. The paper is not heavy such as that of a giclee, but strong and firm such as the actual original Whatman paper. There is no plate mark, false plate mark, or counter mark on a Princeton.

Further, Princetons are printed on a 300 line, meaning that 300 tiny dots of ink will fit along a one inch line. This is exceptional printing far beyond common reproductions. You will need a high powered loupe to distinguish these minute points of ink.

Rarely. Some of his oils have a cameo included. But our original engraving of the Snowy Egret has a figure approaching from the bottom right which has been said to be Audubon. For this reason, many collectors desire this print. You decide.

The number at top left of each double elephant is a group number. There were 87 such groups consisting of 5 prints each. The number at top right is the individual plate number, from 1 to 435. These plate numbers were usually in Roman numerals. Interestingly, plate numbers ending with a 1 or 6 will be a larger bird or composition. Why? Audubon released prints to subscribers in groups of five, with the first print in each group generally being a large bird or a full page composition. Smaller numbers appearing next to birds within the image correspond to the type, sex or maturity of each bird as noted in the bottom script. 

"It is now a month since my work was begun by Mr. Lizars; the paper is of unusual size, called 'double elephant', and the plates are to be finished in such superb style as to eclipse all of the same kind in existence." - J.J. Audubon, December 10, 1826

And 'eclipse all' he did! No other ornithology prints could measure up to Audubon's - literally!  As indicated above, the term 'double elephant' refers to the unusual (double) size of the paper used by Audubon and his engravers (Havell followed Lizars) for the original "Birds of America." The untrimmed paper measured a gargantuan 29 1/2 x 39 1/2 inches! Officially, the proper English measurement for double elephant paper is 40 x 27 inches - untrimmed. Elephant paper is a bit smaller, measuring 28 x 23 inches untrimmed. 

Why such a large (double) size? Audubon insisted that each bird be depicted life-size. When you consider the immense proportions of subjects such as the Brown Pelican or of the White Pelican or the American Flamingo, the necessity of choosing 'double elephant' paper becomes obvious.

But to this, Audubon himself adds ...

"Merely to say, that each of my illustrations is of the size of nature, were too vague ... Not only is every object, as a whole, of the natural size, but also every portion of each object. The compass aided me in its delineation, regulated and corrected each part, ... The bill, the feet, the legs, the claws, the very feathers as they project one beyond another, have been accurately measured." John James Audubon. Ornithological Biography, Volume 1

Here is a list of copper plate sizes.

The sizes listed above will correspond to the plate mark impression on Havells.

Audubon originals are often referred to by a specific plate number. These large smooth copper plates, numbered from 1 to 435, had reverse images etched into them such as shown here for the Labrador Falcon and Hooping Crane. The plate was then (1) Black-inked, (2) Dampened paper was pressed upon it. (3) The paper was pulled from the plate, resulting in a properly oriented black and white image. (4) The image was then hand colored. This was repeated about 200 times, after which the engravings lost their crisp edge. This is why many original documents and works of art from this time period were limited to about 200 copies.

A copper plate is just like it sounds, a large smooth rectangular sheet of copper. Havell, often under the direct supervision of Audubon himself, would then engrave with precision tools a reverse image of the watercolor study into the copper plate. Some plates being as large as 27 1/2 x 39 1/2 inches, and others being smaller for the smaller images. When finished, the plates were inked and dampened paper (all paper being double elephant size, 27 1/2 x 39 1/2 inches, untrimmed) was placed upon them, and then both were run through rollers of a press. The paper was then pulled, or peeled off the plate. What resulted was a properly oriented black and white image, no longer reversed.

Audubon chose Whatman paper for his originals. Manufactured in Kent, England, this was the finest paper available. James Whatman developed wove paper, and continued manufacturing it until his death in 1759. His son, James, then ran the business, but sold it to Thomas Hollingsworth in 1792. The Hollingsworth family continued making this paper until 1976.

This double elephant paper measures about 29 x 39 inches and has a watermark on the back - J WHATMAN - often followed by a date. Some sheets additionally have TURKEY MILL countermarked into the paper. This is thought to refer to the mills original purpose, grinding Turkey wheat from India.

Here is a picture of the making of double elephant Whatman paper.

George Washington signed State documents on Whatman paper, Napoleon wrote his will on Whatman paper while on the Island of St. Helena, William Blake used it for four of his illuminated books and Queen Victoria used Whatman paper for her personal stationary.

The watermark, which is actually a countermark, can be seen on the back of untrimmed Havells while held up to a source of light and stretches across the paper for about 10 inches. Look a few inches within the long edge of the paper. The name J Whatman is followed by the year the paper was manufactured. The name Turkey Mill appears in some countermarks, evidently alluding to the mill’s original purpose of grinding Turkey Wheat from India.

The Lord-Hopkins Collection represents the last known prints to come out of Bowen's Philadelphia studio. Discovered in 1923 by Mary A. Guerrero Lord who was visiting her mother Henrietta Potter James, owner of the house on the corner of South 9th Street in Philadelphia and what is now known as Bonaparte Ct. Her home was earlier rented by Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon’s older brother and Audubon’s friend. The prints were bundled and abandoned in a back alley near the second studio that Bowen used in the 1800’s when producing Audubon’s birds and quadrupeds. We cannot definitively say why these test sheets and pattern prints were purposely kept for some time by Bowen, and perhaps forgotten after his death. We will provide a Certificate of Authenticity noting that they are part of the Lord-Hopkins collection - the last known prints to come from Bowen’s studio. These prints are part of American printmaking history. The condition, ranging from poor to fair, is not of prime concern, due to their historical value. Many are uncolored, allowing one to see the printmaking process. We suggest collectors frame them to archival standards. In some cases we have the matching original, colored, in our Imperial gallery.