Audubon Originals

(1827-1838) This is the most desirable of all original Audubon editions. These are large prints measuring about 27 x 39 inches and all the birds in the foreground are life size. Included are the impossible to find Ivory-billed Woodpecker  and the exquisite Sea-side Finch. We invite you to make an offer on these Audubon originals.

Yes, Audubon is not just birds. This incredibly detailed work is officially termed The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America. These mammals of North America were published in three volumes, dating 1845, 1846, and 1848. Somewhat more that 303 Imperial sets were printed. These are rare and very valuable today. These lithographs were printed on paper sized at 22 x 28 inches, termed Imperials. These prints are identified by the legend at the lower right "Lith. Printed & Cold. by J.T. Bowen, Phila." We have a large collection of these rare prints. Coming soon – a large collection of uncolored Imperials, believed to be the last to come out of Bowen’s Philadelphia print shop.

These were produced between 1840 and 1871. This work is often termed The Royal Octavo Edition, the octavo referring to the size of the paper being about 1/8 the size of a normal folio, or about 6 1/2 x 10 1/2inches. Audubon himself called it "The Birds in Miniature" and you will also hear it simply being termed the 'miniatures'. It was produced in Philadelphia, USA, by John T. Bowen. We offer many such originals already professionally matted and mounted on a display board. These can be displayed as is (the perfect gift) or simply dropped into a frame.

Audubon's sons saw the need to reduce the size of the Imperials, and beginning in 1849, the octavo edition of The Quadrupeds of North America was published in three volumes. Volume 1 was followed in 1851 with the second volume, and the final, the third volume was published in 1854. Between 1,999 and 2,004 sets were published in this first edition. A second edition was published in 1852-54, a third in 1856-60, and a fourth in 1870. The size for these editions was about 6 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches. Many of these are also offered already matted and mounted on an archival backer board.

The Lord-Hopkins Collection. Discovered in 1923 and privately maintained until 2019, these are the last known prints to come from Bowen’s shop in Philadelphia. Some have the penciled in Instructions of Victor Audubon.

The rarest of all Audubon originals. In 1858, about seven years after John James Audubon passed away, his younger son John Woodhouse Audubon initiated an ambitious project to reissue the Birds of America. He recruited the Roe Lockwood Company in New York city to publish the works and Julius Bien for lithography. Unlike the Havells which were produced from copper engraving plates, Julius Bien utilized the newly emerging chromolithography process as a way of reducing the costs of production. Chromolithography utilized different sets of printing stones to produce a given plate, some with different colors to produce the final colored image. All the larger images as well as some smaller images carry the credit "Chromolithy by J. Bien, New York, 1860".

The most exciting Audubon find in a generation, this is a collection of pattern prints, or touchstone prints, that were used by the Audubon family and their engraver, J. T. Bowen, as a guide for his colorists when producing the Octavo quadrupeds. Usually seen only in museums, these are the last known prints to come from Bowen’s shop, some with penciled instructions from Victor Audubon! These were discovered in 1923 and are only now being offered to collectors, and only from this website. Very reasonably priced, you may want to purchase two of the same image where available. Purchasing two or more? Add selections to your cart, click Checkout, and apply coupon code Lord-Hopkins-Octavos for a 20% discount. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany each historic print. These of course are more than actual originals. They are part of Audubon history.

The Lord-Hopkins Collection - Octavo bird test sheets - uncolored

Now available - lord-Hopkins Collection - Octavo bird test sheets -uncolored

This collection is composed of Imperial pattern prints and uncolored Imperials, just as they were pulled off of the stones. We believe the colored prints were used as pattern prints, as they were found bundled with the Octavo pattern prints and are well worn, as one would expect from such reference prints. These are reasonably priced and in some cases we have the resulting colored original in our Imperial quadruped gallery. Purchasing two or more? Add selections to your cart, click Checkout, and apply coupon code Lord-Hopkins-Imperials for a 20% discount. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany each historic print. These of course are more than actual originals. They are part of Audubon history. 

Actual original Audubon Octavos, birds and quadrupeds, already professionally matted. We recommend displaying as is, although you may simply drop into a frame of your choice. Most birds are from the beautiful second edition produced by Audubons family in 1856. For this collection only, select two or more, click Checkout, and apply coupon code Heritage for a 20% discount!