John James Audubon
The Birds of America, no. 63 of 250
Color photo-lithography
1971-1972
The facsimile Audubon and case, on display in the Hutchins Library lobby, are gifts of Ross W. Sloniker and the E.O. Mountain Fund.
The Birds of America (1971-1972) was the first completed reprint edition of Audubon's book. It was published in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, using the original copy sold by Audubon to the Teyler Museum in the early 1800's. This project was supervised by an international panel of notable ornithologists and Audubon experts. Birds of America consists of 435 actual size watercolor drawings of birds from America and a scenery to help display the bird in its natural environment. The steps Audubon took to draw a bird started by hunting them down and turning them into taxidermy. Audubon wanted to make sure he captured all the right colors, shapes, and details in every part of the art. Audubon sold the engraved plates in England, Europe, and North America. People who bought them received five plates at a time including one large bird, one medium bird, three small birds over a period between 1827 and 1838.
Abby Nash
Facsimile of the original edition published in London, 1827-1838.
Edition limited to 250 copies, of which this is no. 63.
"In 1971-72 the first complete edition of Audubon's great work, The Birds of America, was published in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, using the original folio copy sold by Audubon to the Teyler museum in the early 1800s. This project was supervised by an international panel of noted ornithologists and Audubon experts. These prints are exact facsimiles of the world-famous Double Elephant Edition of The Birds of America, published by John J. Audubon over a period of 12 years in Edinburgh, Scotland, and London, England. It is sometimes referred to as the Second Edition of Audubon's birds. The edition consists of all 435 full color plates of the birds depicted life size by Audubon in his famous work. They are exactly the same size as the original edition, 26 x 39 1/2 inches ... The images drawn by Audubon were printed on 100% cotton watermarked paper, with plate marks ... The watermark on the long side of the sheet reads 'G. Schut and Zonen Audubon' in recognition of the mill which produced this fine paper. This edition was limited to 250 copies."--Audubon Prints & Books.
