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John James Audubon: The Birds of America (later editions)

This page lists a selection of later editions of The Birds Of America and books about The Birds Of America that feauture a large number of the plates.

The books are listed by publication date with the most recent at the top of the page. The page is not intended to be comprehensive.



Audubon pages on the site:

Birds Of America:
- Double Elephant edition
- Royal Octavo edition
- Later editions

Ornithological Biography

Other artwork books

Biographical books

Audubon's Journals

Miscellaneous

 

The Birds of America

John James Audubon

Foreword: David Allen Sibley

The Natural History Museum

2013

"This is a complete edition of John James Audubon's nineteenth century masterpiece, The Birds of America. To create this hardback edition, the Natural History Museum's own original double elephant size folio was disbound and each of the 435 beautiful hand-coloured prints was specially photographed. The artworks are accompanied by the scientific descriptions that were used in the original The Birds of America and there is also a new introduction by David Allen Sibley, a world-renowned bird artist, ornithologist and author."

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The Birds of America: The Bien Choromolithographic Edition

John James Audubon

Text: Joel Oppenheimer

W.W. Norton & Co.

2013

"After Audubon's death, his family arranged with the New York printer Julius Bien to produce another elephant folio edition, this time by the new chromolithographic process. It was to be sold by subscription but the venture, begun in 1858, was brought to an end by the American Civil War. Only 150 plates were produced and the number remaining today is slight; they are among the rarest and most sought after Audubon prints. Bound in cloth with a full cloth slipcase, this beautifully produced book is the first complete reproduction of Bien chromolithographs and will become the centrepiece of any bird lover's library."

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The Birds of America

John James Audubon

London Natural History Museum

2011

"First published in double elephant size (approximately a metre tall) in the first half of the nineteenth century, it is famous for its stunning life-size illustrations of birds set within landscaped backgrounds. The book was issued in parts over eleven years and only around 200 completed sets were ever produced. Less than 120 of these survive today, locked away in museums, galleries and private collections around the world. To create this complete edition of Audubon's masterpiece, each of the 435 beautiful hand-coloured prints was specially photographed from the Natural History Museum's own original edition. The artworks are accompanied by the scientific descriptions that were used in the original Birds of America and there is also a new introduction by world-renowned bird artist, ornithologist and author David Allen Sibley."

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John James Audubon and the Birds of America: A Visionary Achievement in Ornithology Illustration

Lee A. Vedder

Huntingdon Library Publications

2006

"John James Audubon's sumptuous four-volume edition of "Birds of America", published between 1827 and 1838, contains 435 hand-colored life-size prints of 1,065 individual American birds. A glorious union of science and art, it remains an unequaled achievement in ornithology illustration. In tracing Audubon's quest to produce this groundbreaking work, Vedder draws on the artist and naturalist's own writings and the latest scholarship on his life and on "Birds of America". Plates from the Huntington Library's double-elephant folio are reproduced in colour, including the wild turkey, Baltimore oriole, bald eagle, and (once presumed extinct) ivory-billed woodpecker. Vedder provides with each plate a commentary on the unique characteristics of the species depicted, based on Audubon's own observations in the field."

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The Double Elephant Folio, The Story of Audubon's Birds of America

Waldemar H. Fries

Zenaida Publishing

2005

"Originally published in 1973, this edition includes an update by expert Suzanne Low on the current status and location of all sets known to exist. Often called 'the Bible of Audubon enthusiasts,' this book tells the story of the creation of the Birds of America, and describes the history of each set, including sets that were broken up, destroyed, or lost! Information from the names of the original subscribers to the watermarks of the prints."

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Audubon's Masterpieces: 150 Prints from the Birds of America

John James Audubon

JG Press

2004

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Audubon's Birds of America: The Audubon Society's Baby Elephant Folio

John James Audubon

Editor, introduction: Roger Tory Peterson, Virginia Marie Peterson

Abbeville Publishing

2003

"This marvelous edition of Audubon's Birds of America displays all 435 of Audubon's brilliant handcolored engravings in exquisite reproductions taken from the original plates of the Audubon Society's archival copy of the rare Double Elephant Folio. Although many attempts have been made to re-create the magnificent illustrations in Audubon's masterpiece, nothing equals the level of fidelity or scale achieved in this high-quality edition. Organized and annotated by Roger Tory Peterson, America's best-known ornithologist, and issued with the full endorsement and cooperation of the Audubon Society, this magnificent volume is as thorough in scientific classification as it is beautiful. Peterson's fascinating introduction places Audubon in the context of the history of American ornithological art and also reproduces a wide sampling of the work of Audubon's notable predecessors and disciples, including Peterson's own justly famous paintings. This new systematic arrangement of the prints, complete with informative commentaries about each bird, made it possible to correct many of the problems or errors in Audubon's original edition revealed by later scholarship."

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A Guide to Audubon's Birds of America

Susanne M. Low

William Reese Co

2002

A Concordance Containing Current Names of the Birds, Plate Names With Descriptions of Plate Variants, a Description of the Bien Edition, and Corresponding Indexes.

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Treasury of Audubon Birds in Full Colour: 224 Plates from the Birds of America

John James Audubon

Dover Publications

1999

Contains 224 images reprinted from the royal octavo edition of Birds Of America.

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Birds of America

John James Audubon

Editor, introduction: Colin Harrison

Wordsworth Editions

1997

"The original of this ornithological picture book features 435 hand-coloured aqua-tinted plates. It measures approximately 30" x 27" so that all the birds could be illustrated in life-size. This reprint, at just under half the size, is taken from a rare subscription copy."

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Audubon's Masterpieces: 150 Prints from the Birds of America

John James Audubon

Introduction: David Reinhardt

Konecky and Konecky

1996

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Audubon's Birds of America

Containing All The Original Plates Reprinted From The Royal Octavo Edition

John James Audubon

Thunder Bay Press

1994

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Audubon's Birds of America: The Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio

John James Audubon

Editor, introduction: Roger Tory Peterson, Virginia Marie Peterson

Abbeville Publishing

1993

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Audubon's Great National Work: The Royal Octavo Edition of The Birds of America

Editor: Ron Tyler

University Of Texas Press

1993

"Virtually all of the scholarly attention paid to Audubon has been devoted to the double elephant folio of The Birds, published in Great Britain between 1827 and 1838. But, as Ron Tyler reveals in this ground-breaking study, even before the larger work was completed, Audubon was contemplating a 'petit edition' which would bring his birds to a much larger - and more profitable - audience. This was the royal octavo edition, one of the handsomest publications created in America during the first half of the nineteenth century ….. Ron Tyler offers an engrossing narrative of the "little work's" conception, production, distribution, and reception. He mines a rich store of hitherto neglected sources, including Audubon family account books, newly discovered original drawings for the octavo edition, numerous proofs for the plates, sales records, and personal correspondence, for a fresh look at this important aspect of Audubon's career. This study carefully reconstructs the processes that produced the most popular natural history book of the nineteenth century."

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Audubon's Birds of America: Tiny Folio

John James Audubon

Editor, introduction: Roger Tory Peterson, Virginia Marie Peterson

Abbeville Publishing

1991

"This sparkling Tiny Folio edition of Audubon's Birds of America displays all 435 of Audubon's hand–colored engravings, graced with an illuminating introduction by Roger Tory Peterson that places Audubon in his ornithological and art historical context. Issued with the full endorsement and cooperation of the Audubon Society, the stunning Baby Elephant Folio—here reproduced in a miniature, gem–like version—was the first work ever to arrange Audubon's plates in scientific order."

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102 Favorite Audubon Birds of America

John James Audubon

Editor, introduction: Roger Tory Peterson

Crown Publishers

1978

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The Double Elephant Folio, The Story of Audubon's Birds of America

Waldemar H. Fries

American Library Association

1973

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Last updated October 2017