The value of individual Audubon prints depends on the edition of the folio or book to which they originally belonged. We assume that in no case are we speaking of the original Audubon paintings. Most of these original paintings are owned by the New York Historical Society. Confusion sometimes arises because the early Audubon prints, although engravings, were hand-colored. They are not, however, paintings. There are various editions of Audubon's bird art that are quite valuable.
 
 

1. The first edition, entitled THE BIRDS OF AMERICA, from Original Drawings by John James Audubon, was a huge, double elephant folio-size work in four volumes, printed in England during the years 1827-1838. All four volumes are immensely valuable but most people are familiar with individual prints that were either never bound or were later removed from a bound volume, and they, too, are valuable.

As they appeared in the "book," the overall dimensions of the plates were about 29" x 39," untrimmed. Since these have often been trimmed for framing, however, the size of the actual artwork squared by the legend, is more revealing, but it varies. The drawings of the larger species may take up almost the entire plate: about 25" x 38" (Wild Turkey); middle size is about 20" x 25"; artwork depicting the smaller species may be as small as 11" x 19".

The printed matter consists of the Part number (arabic numeral, five plates to a part) and Plate number (usually roman numerals) in the upper portion, although either may be missing, and below, some version of: Drawn from nature by John James Audubon (one plate by Lucy Audubon); the names of the species; and William Home Lizars (on first ten plates, often with a note on retouching by Robert Havell) or Robert Havell (on all but the first ten plates) as engraver. Sometimes the date of publication is shown. The prints are hand-colored.

2. A smaller edition (royal octavo sized), called THE BIRDS OF AMERICA from Drawings Made in the United States and its Territories, was published in seven volumes by the author and J.B. Chevalier, New York and Philadelphia, 1840-1844. Unlike the first edition described above this was issued with text and was considerably smaller--about 10 3/8" x 6 1/2". Complete volumes as well as individual prints are valuable.

The plates, lithographed in color, measure, again, 10 3/8" x 6 1/2". They bear the same legend as the first edition except that in the lower right-hand corner, J.T. Bowen is shown as the lithographer.

3. Subsequent editions in the smaller (octavo) size, again called THE BIRDS OF AMERICA from Drawings Made in the United States and its Territories, were published from 1856, after Audubon's death, onward to about 1871. They were printed rather than hand-colored. A complete set, or even one volume of a set, is valuable.

4. The Bien edition, using the title of the first, THE BIRDS OF AMERICA, from Original Drawings by John James Audubon, etc., was published by Roe Lockwood & Son, New York, 1860, in the double elephant folio size. (Not to be confused with later, smaller, Roe Lockwood editions.)

Individual plates are most often found and are valuable. These plates are dated 1858, 1859, or 1860 to distinguish them from the plates of the first edition which they resemble in size, although not in quality. They are not hand-colored--this edition was printed by chromolithography by J. Bien, whose name appears on the plates. Only one volume out of the four was completed.

We have made no mention above of early editions of Audubon's text to his plates since we seldom receive inquiries about them, but they are valuable.

The reader who has pushed through the foregoing may feel that he/she is close to identifying, and perhaps evaluating his print, but, unfortunately, this is not the case. The Audubon material is in the public domain and may be reproduced, including the original legend, without any indication that it is, in fact, a modern reproduction.

Bound volumes, of course, offer little difficulty. They are usually dated on the title page and, where not dated, as in the later Roe Lockwood editions, may be identified by the publisher's name--Audubon or Chevalier, Roe Lockwood in later editions. (The "Act of Congress" date in the latter is not indicative, it refers only to the date of the original copyright.)

A sure sign of an original print is the "J. Whatman" watermark in the paper of the first edition. This appears in a line about an inch high and ten inches long, and can be seen when the plate is held to the light. Unfortunately, if the plate has been trimmed, the watermark may no longer exist.

Although the aquatint of the first edition is quite "thin" and doesn't raise the surface of the paper as does the oil paint, it may still be seen to slightly change the surface of the paper when the plate is held horizontally under a light. In a lithographed reproduction, light strikes the horizontally-held plate equally and the coloring appears to be a part of the paper, beneath the finish rather than over it.

The most apparent indication of a modern reproduction is the addition of any legend whatsoever (other than species description) beyond that given above for each edition. This may take many forms such as "Printed in the U.S.A.," "Reproduced by Courtesy of ...", a date, the name of any individual, firm or institution other than those mentioned for each edition. Any change in the positioning of the legend also signals a modern reproduction. "No. ..." should be in the upper left, "Plate ..." in the upper rights, :Drawn from nature ..." in the lower left, "Engraved, Printed & Coloured ..." in the lower right. The species' name is centered between the last two, but additional descriptive material of all the species may also be added in other portions of a first edition plate.

Any size artwork differing from that mentioned for each edition is another indication of a modern reproduction, but this may not be too much help if a first edition is in question, since the size of these plates vary between the dimensions given. However, the Wild Turkey (called the Great American Cock on some plates of the first edition) is the most reproduced and its dimensions should be those shown for the largest. Most modern reproductions of the Wild Turkey are a few inches smaller.

The paper of the first edition is a heavy, white, dull-finished paper, but modern reproductions have appeared on a reasonable facsimile. The hand-coloring of the first edition and the aquatint give the impression of a dull thick watercolor, but modern reproductions have also been hand-colored. Glossy finished prints are modern reproductions.

With the exception of the artwork of the very large species (where the artwork almost reaches to the edge of the paper) a plate of the first edition should show a plate impression not more than an inch and a half beyond the legend and artwork. This is a rectangular impression made on the paper by the copper plates. It gives the appearance of depressing the artwork, with legend, into the paper. It may be both seen and felt with the fingers. If the print is smooth far into the border, it is a modern reproduction.

If you still feel that you have a plate from either the first or Bien editions, you may have one. The identification of an Audubon plate is quite tricky although it can, in most cases, be done from the information we have given. A modern reproduction usually gives itself away by some transposition of the original material. For instance, the printer's imprint, on the lower right on a first or Bien edition, may be moved over to the left, immediately following the artist's (Audubon) imprint.

There have been two complete facsimile edition produced of the entire BIRDS OF AMERICA. The first was done by the Johnson Reprint Corporation, New York, and Theatrum Orbis Terrarum of Amsterdam 1971-1973. The facsimile edition of the 435 prints sold for $6,960 in 1973. The paper contains a watermark on the lengthwise edge showing the impression G. Shut and Zonen Audubon. Prices of individual "Amsterdam" prints usually sell for 10% of the original prints.

The only other complete facsimile edition was produced by Abbeyville Press in 1985. The four leatherbound volumes sold for $15,000. By 1991 they had doubled in price. Each print contains a Audubon Society Abbeyville Press watermark.

In short, any one plate should conform exactly to the description given for any one plate or edition. It should not show a combination of characteristics that originally appeared separately in different plates or editions. This indicates a modern reproduction in which the printer has selected from the different editions those attributes which he felt were most effective, and put them together.

If you feel you have plates from either the first of Bien editions mentioned, or volumes from any edition, and wish to sell them, we suggest you get in touch with the dealers we have listed. The value will vary widely depending on the edition, the attractiveness of the particular plate, the market for Audubon prints or books in general at any one time and other, more technical issues.

The dealers mentioned below are listed because their names have appeared in advertisements in various periodicals or we have used their services at one time. Their inclusion on this list does NOT constitute an endorsement. This list is provided as a courtesy to users but it is not possible to constantly update and maintain all of the information on this list.
 

Natural History Books Abbeville Press 488 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 212/888-1969 Harrell Books POBox 425 Friday Harbor, WA 98250 206/378-6146 Flora & Fauna Books 121 First Ave. South Seattle, WA 98104 206/623-4727 Marcher's Books 6204 N. Vermont Oklahoma City, OK 73112 Naturalist's Bookshelf 540 W 14th St. New York, NY 10025 212/865-6202 Patricia Ledlie POBox 90, Bean Rd. Buckfield, ME 04220 207/336-2778 Peacock Books POBox 2024 Littleton, MA 01460 508/456-8404 Peterson Book Co. POBox 966 Davenport, IA 52805 319/355-7051 Raymond Sutton, Jr. POBox 330 Williamsburg, KY 40769 606/549-3464 Wings Books Random House Value Publishing 40 Engelhard Avenue Avenal, NJ 97001 800/726-0600

Prints and Paintings For reputable dealers in your area, contact: The Art Dealers Association of America 575 Madison Ave New York, NY 10022 212/940-8590. Dealers include: Aaron Ashley, Inc. 230 Fifth Avenue, Ste. 1905 New York, NY 10001-7783 212/532-9227 fax 481-4214  Audubon Gallery 177 King Street  Charleston, SC 29401  (843) 853-1100 (888) 453-BIRD www.audubongallery.com Audubon Prints and Books 9720 Spring Ridge Lane  Vienna, VA 22180-1449  703/759-5567  Haley & Steele 91 Newbury Street Boston, MA 02116 (617) 536-6339 http://www.haleysteele.com The John James Audubon Gallery http://www.jjaudubon.com Kenyon Oppenheimer, Inc. 410 N. Michigan Ave.  Chicago, IL 60611  312/642-5300  fax 644-9042  www.audubonart.com Minnie's Land.com Alexandria, VA http://www.minniesland.com Motif Designs 20 Jones Street New Rochelle, NY 10802 800/431-2424 The Old Print Shop 150 Lexington Ave. New York, NY 10016 212/683-3950 Fax: 212/779-8040 http://www.oldprintshop.com Patrick Jolly Fine Art 820 16th Street, #517 Denver, CO 80202 303/534-6805 Email: pjolly@mho.net Princeton Audubon Limited PO Box 26, NJ Schooley's Mtn., 07870 609/896-0722 www.princetonaudubon.com Sotheby Parke Bernet, Inc. 1334 York Ave. (Print Dept.) New York, NY 10021 212/606-7117  Tam O'Neill Fine Arts 311 Detroit St.  Denver, CO 80206  303/355-7711  303/355-7722 (fax)  800/4 Audubon  E-mail: tam@tamoneillfinearts.com Taylor Clark Gallery 2623 Government Street  Baton Rouge, LA 70806  PH: 1-888-725-5251  http://www.taylorclark.com  W. Graham Arader III 1000 Boxwood Ct.  King of Prussia, PA 19406  610/825-6570

W.H. Lizars was a noted Scotch engraver during the early 1800's in Edinburgh.
Too make a long story short, John James Audubon went to England to look for an
engraver and colorist about 1824 to help him market his Birds of America
paintings. Audubon was pretty much rejected in England in his attempts to find
an engraver, and so turned to Scotland. He met Lizars here.

Lizars only did about ten engravings, I believe, of Audubon's Birds of America.
I think the first five were Wild Turkey, then Yellow-biled Cuckoo, Prothinotary
Warbler, Purple Finch, and Canada Warbler. At some point about 1826-27 Lizars
colorists went on strike, and Audubon had to find someone else to do the
engravings and coloring. He turned to Robert Havell in London, and Havell did
all the rest of the engravings, printing and painting of Audubon's Bird of
America.

I don't know whether Lizars engravings and coloring are more valuable than
Havell's.

You know how this all happened? Audubon did the original watercolors in America,
and all of these originals are held by the New York Historical Society, and
occassionally go on a road tour around the U.S. In 1824 Audubon went to Europe
to find an engraver to make the copper plates which were used to make the
prints, and these prints were then hand colored by painters..sort of like
coloring in a coloring book. But the important thing is that each original print
is hand colored and thus valuable...unless of course it's a reproduction, of
which there are many. Audubon didn't do any coloring on these engravings, the
only REAL original Audubon paintings are the watercolors in New York.

So if you have an original it will be a Double Elephant Folio size and will
measure about 3' X 2', out of the frame. As I said, there are many
reproductions, and some are excellent. There is also a smaller edition called
the Baby Elephant Folio. Many of the reproductions will have the name of the
reproducer somewhere on the print, usually you have to take them out of the
frame to see this. If it says anywhere "Produced by the (example) Art
Association of New York" then it's not original. Some reproductions have no
documentation on them, and this makes determining whether they are origianls or
reproductions a little more difficult.

Several years ago I went to look at a supposed original advertised in the
newspaper, aparently verified by a local frame shop. I asked the owner to pull
it out of the frame and sure enough it was a reproduction The owner had high
hopes of a big profit, and even though it cearly said "Produced by the Bank of
Minnosota" or some such thing, they still didn't believe that it was a
reproduction. At the most, the value might be a couple hundred dollars for a
repro.

If you have them out of the frame, you can hold them up to a good light and see
the brush strokes, if they are originals. A repro will look flat in color.

If you really think they are originals..and there are few just hanging around
now, I would take them to a very reputable dealer in rare prints. You may have
to pay a small fee, but it will be worth it, particularly if they are originals.
Don't go to the local frame shop!

Check your local library under Audubon. There are many books out on the painter
and his works.

If I knew what city you were in I might be able to direct you to someone. You
could also try calling Alan Gehret, who is the Assistant Administrator at the
historic Audubon House at Mill Grove, in Audubon, Pennsylvania. Phone # 610-666-
5593. They deal with a lot of questions like this and of course have many of
Aud.'s prints.

Good luck.

Jesse Grantham, Director of Western Sanctuaries