Audubon Drawings And Proofs

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON DRAWINGS AND PROOFSMss. 5160InventoryCompiled byMichael Taylorand Hans RasmussenE.A. McIlhenny Natural History CollectionSpecial Collections, Hill Memorial LibraryLouisiana State University LibrariesLouisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.2014

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON DRAWINGS AND PROOFSMss. 51601840-1844SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESCONTENTS OF INVENTORYSUMMARY . 3BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE . 4SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE . 5CONTENTS LIST . 6Use of materials. If you wish to examine items in this collection, please fill out a call slipspecifying the materials you wish to see. Consult the Container List for location informationneeded on the call slip.Publication. Readers assume full responsibility for compliance with laws regarding copyright,literary property rights, and libel.Permission to examine materials does not constitute permission to publish. Any publicationof such materials beyond the limits of fair use requires specific prior written permission.Requests for permission to publish should be addressed in writing to the Head, PublicServices, Special Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803-3300. Whenpermission to publish is granted, two copies of the publication will be requested for the E.A.McIlhenny Natural History Collection.Proper acknowledgement of E.A. McIlhenny Natural History Collection materials must be madein any resulting writing or publications. The correct form of citation for this manuscript group isgiven on the summary page. Copies of scholarly publications based on research in the E.A.McIlhenny Natural History Collections are welcomed.

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON DRAWINGS AND PROOFSMss. 51601840-1844SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESSUMMARYSize.1.0 linear footGeographic Locations.United StatesInclusive Dates.1840-1844Languages.EnglishSummary.The John James Audubon Drawings and Proofs consist ofdrawings, colored proofs, and uncolored proofs used toproduce the illustrations in the 1840-1844 first octavoedition of the Birds of America.Restrictions on Access.NoneReproduction Note.If microfilm is available, photocopies must be made frommicrofilm.Copyright.Physical rights are retained by the LSU Libraries. Thesematerials are in the public domain.Citation.John James Audubon Drawings and Proofs, Mss. 5160, E.A.McIlhenny Natural History Collection, LSU Libraries,Baton Rouge, La.Stack Location.VAULT:53

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON DRAWINGS AND PROOFSMss. 51601840-1844SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESBIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTEJohn James Audubon (1785-1851) was the most distinguished wildlife artist of the nineteenthcentury. His best known work, the double elephant folio edition of the Birds of America, waspublished in Edinburgh and London between 1827 and 1838. Approximately 200 copies wereprinted, selling for 184 14 shillings in Britain and 1,000 in the United States. A complete setcontained 435 hand-colored engravings. Audubon later published a less expensive edition, pricedat 100. Produced using the lithographic process, it became known as the petite, royal octavo, orBirds in Miniature edition. It was published in installments as The Birds of America, fromDrawings made in the United States and their Territories (1840-44) (Call number: McIlhennyNatural History Collection, QL674 .A9 1840). A complete set contains 500 plates measuring 11by 7 inches, about one fourth the size of the illustrations in the folio edition.Lithographer J. T. Bowen of Philadelphia employed various artists to create the smaller plates. Insome cases, they were made using a grid or camera lucida, which projected a reduced image ontopaper. In other cases, Audubon himself created new drawings based on the originals or of birdsnot in the folio edition, such as the Western Meadowlark (included in this collection). Drawingswere then transferred onto a lithographic stone by covering them with a sheet of tracing paperheld in place by wax, then traced over in red or brown crayon. In some instances, the crayon wasapplied directly to the drawing. (The drawing of the Downy Woodpecker, in this collection, stillbears small pieces of tracing paper and wax.) After the images were transferred, proofs weremade to test the accuracy of the drawings and background tints before producing the final prints,which were hand colored.The materials in this collection were previously owned by the noted book collector H. BradleyMartin, grandson of Andrew Carnegie’s business partner Henry Phipps. After Martin’s death in1988, they were purchased at auction by Texas bookseller and publisher W. Thomas Taylor, whoplanned to include the drawings and proofs in deluxe copies of a book he was publishing on theroyal octavo edition, written by art historian Ron Tyler. Tyler, however, determined that thirteenof the drawings were by Audubon himself. Rather than break up the collection, Taylor sold it tothe LSU Libraries in 1992. (For more information on the collection’s provenance, see “La PetiteÉdition: Sketches by John James Audubon” in Treasures of LSU, and Ronnie C. Tyler,Audubon’s Great National Work: The Royal Octavo Edition of The Birds of America.)

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON DRAWINGS AND PROOFSMss. 51601840-1844SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESSCOPE AND CONTENT NOTEThis collection consists of 32 pencil drawings, three colored proofs, and 14 uncolored proofs of38 illustrations from the first octavo edition of the Birds of America. Box 1 contains unmattedillustrations and box 2 matted illustrations.The number and plate designations refer to those on the final prints. Like the original folio edition,the octavo edition was sold by subscription, its subscribers receiving prints in installments of five,which were then bound together, usually in seven volumes. “Number” refers to the installment,“plate” to the individual image.

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON DRAWINGS AND PROOFSMss. 51601840-1844SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESCONTENTS LISTLocationVAULT:53BoxFolder11No. Plate SubjectType of IllustrationLeaflet advertising seven worksof John James Audubon for saleby C. S. Francis & Co., NewYork, including the elephantfolio and royal octavo editions ofthe Birds of America.22 Sparrow FalconColored proof1575 Wilson’s Flycatching-WarblerDrawing with grid41783 Hemlock WarblerDrawing with grid51886 Carulean Wood-WarblerDrawing211993 Hermit Wood-WarblerDrawing1621101 Mourning Ground-WarblerDrawing with grid722110 Tennessee Swamp WarblerDrawing with grid828138 Common Mocking BirdColored proof943213 Saffron-headed Marsh-BlackbirdColored proof2249243 Red-eyed Vireo or GreenletDrawing11049245 Black throated Wax-wing orBohemian ChattererDrawing1149245 Black throated Wax-wing orBohemian ChattererUncolored proof withtint block350248 Red-bellied NuthatchDrawing452258 Canadian WoodpeckerDrawing553263 Downy WoodpeckerDrawing1253263 Downy WoodpeckerUncolored proof withtint block21253

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON DRAWINGS AND PROOFSMss. 51601840-1844SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESLocationVAULT:53BoxFolder2655275 Yellow-billed CuckooDrawing759292 Welcome PartridgeDrawing860299 Willow PtarmiganDrawing1360299 Willow PtarmiganUncolored proof withtinted background1461304 Common GallinuleUncolored proof withtinted background2962306 Sora RailDrawing11562310 Clapper Rail or Salt Water Marsh Uncolored proof withHentinted background21063311 Virginian RailDrawing1163313 Whooping CraneDrawing1663315 Black-bellied PloverDrawing1763315 Black-bellied PloverUncolored proof withtinted background21264318 Rocky Mountain PloverDrawing118197587375 American Flamingo431 Sandwich TernUncolored proofDrawing2087433 Common TernDrawing2187433 Common TernUncolored proof withtinted background2289445 Ivory GullDrawing2389445 Ivory GullUncolored proof2493462 Tufted PuffinDrawing2594467 Curled-crested PhalerisDrawing11No. Plate SubjectType of Illustration

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON DRAWINGS AND PROOFSMss. 51601840-1844SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESLocationVAULT:53BoxFolderNo. Plate SubjectType of Illustration12694467 Curled-crested PhalerisUncolored proof withtinted background2794468 Knobbed-billed PhalerisDrawing2895475 Slender-billed GuillemotDrawing2997484 Harris’ FinchDrawing3097484 Harris’ FinchUncolored proof withtint block3197485 Bell’s VireoDrawing21398489 Missouri Meadow LarkDrawing13298489 Missouri Meadow LarkUncolored proof3398490 Yellow-bellied FlycatcherDrawing3498490 Yellow-bellied FlycatcherUncolored proof3599491 Least FlycatcherDrawing36 100497 Western Shore LarkDrawing37 100497 Western Shore LarkUncolored proof withtinted background

Summary. The John James Audubon Drawings and Proofs consist of drawings, colored proofs, and uncolored proofs used to . some cases, they were made using a grid or camera lucida, which projected a reduced image onto paper. In other cases, Audubon himself created new drawings based on the originals or of birds