House Wren

John James Audubon’s Birds of America

Princeton Audubon Double Elephant Edition of 1500.

What is a double elephant?

26 1/4 x 39 1/4; Condition: Mint

Nature is never out of style, so ... Feather your nest!

Thank you for visiting Princeton Audubon! 

“Of all the full-size facsimiles of Audubon's prints, those from Princeton Audubon Ltd. come the closest in appearance and quality to the originals. Combining this with their very reasonable cost makes Princeton Audubon facsimiles winners for those looking to acquire some of the most dramatic American natural history images ever produced." - Chris Lane, Philadelphia Print Shop West, appraiser on Antiques Roadshow.

Of our prints, William Steiner, author of Audubon Prints: A Collector’s Guide To Every Edition wrote, “True prints, true colors, incredible detail. Princetons are simply the finest Audubon facsimiles ever made!”

We purchased the actual antique originals in order to accurately produce this award-winning edition, giving you a connection to Audubon’s original work. Read more ...

In order to create this spectacular print, we needed to purchase the actual original. Measuring more than two feet by three feet, the birds are the same size as in life.

Princetons began with the purchase of the actual originals which were physically used in the production process. A giant camera with film the same size as the print took a direct-capture picture of the original, and this exact image was transferred directly to the metal printing plates. There are no other Audubon facsimiles which match the quality of Princeton prints.

Our prints have this embossed seal at the lower right of the paper ...

... and are pencil-numbered in the lower left under the printed script.

Here are the printing specifications ...

Princeton Audubon Double Elephant Edition •Double elephant (life size - 26 1/4 x 39 1/4) •Limited edition of 1500. •Pencil-numbered and embossed with the Princeton Audubon Limited seal. •Up to 11 color plates used. •Specially developed fade-proof inks. Absolute color fidelity to the actual original. •Printed on a 300 line. •Very heavy archival paper which is recommended by the Library of Congress for archives and is specially toned to match the actual color of the antique originals. •Registered to purchaser. •As permanently displayed at The Royal Society of London, to which Audubon belonged as a Fellow.

About the image itself ...

Audubon made a pastel drawing of a male house wren when he and his wife were in Pennsylvania in 1812.  Later, he made use of this work to produce the present composition showing the wren nest in a felt hat.  His penciled outline of the tree limb was completed for the engraving by Robert Havell, Jr.
Audubon wrote of his original painting: "I knew of one [nest] in the pocket of an old broken-down carriage, and many in such an old hat as you see represented in the plate...I hope you will...look at the little creatures anxiously peeping out or hanging to the side of the hat, to meet their mother; which has just arrived with a spider, whilst the male is on the lookout, ready to interpose should any intruder come near."
Wrens are great scolders, and this species speaks with a deep, grating chatter.   Its bulling and tempestuous song is a series of short notes poured out in a rapid burst that suddenly rises and then falls.