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Home>Selections from John James Audubon's The Birds of America (1826-1838)

Selections from John James Audubon's The Birds of America (1826-1838)

A wild turkey standing among tall grasses and reeds against a cream-white background nearly fills this vertical, hand-colored etching. The bird’s body faces our right, and its pale, steel-blue, scrawny neck, small head, and short beak turn to look to our left in profile. Pink bulges line the bird’s neck, and its dark eye is wide and alert. A triangular, short, horn-like protrusion over the beak appears to be covered in fuzz. The turkey’s stout and robust body is covered with golden-orange feathers down its back and around the breast. Black and white striped wings are tucked along its body below, and the tawny-brown feathers of its tail fans out to nearly brush the ground. Feathers where the bird’s ribbed and scaly, pale pink and gray legs meet the body are striped ruby red and black. The bird strides to our right on a dirt ground with tufts of plants. The reeds, some of them bamboo-like, fade in the background around the turkey. Text at the top center of the print reads, “PLATE 1.” The artist’s name is printed below the image under the left corner: “Drawn by J.J. Audubon M.W.S.” Printed cursive text across the bottom margin of the page reads, “Great American Cock Male” and block letters read, “VULGO (WILD TURKEY--) Meleagris Gallopavo. A printed inscription under the right corner reads, “Engraved by W. H. Lizars. Edinr.”

William Home Lizars, Scottish, 1788 - 1859, Great American Cock, 1827 hand-colored etching on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.1

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Three orange, black, and white birds nestle among wide leaves and round, pale pink and yellow flowers in this hand-colored engraving. Two of the birds have vivid orange markings edged with black and white. One near the top right corner is numbered with a tiny 1 and the one below with a 2. Numbered 3, a female is muted in tone, and she perches on a sack-shaped nest hanging from the plant’s stem. All three birds face and are angled toward the center of the composition, which is mostly veiled with wide green leaves around three blossoms. Engraved text in the lower center of the print reads, “Baltimore Oriole, 1. & 2. Males, 3. Female and Nest, Icterus Baltimore. Plant Vulgo. Yellow Poplar. Lirodendron Tulipifera.” An inscription in the bottom left corner reads, “Drawn from Nature by John J. Audobon, F.R.S.E. M.W.S.” and another in the lower right corner reads, “Engraved by R. Havell Junior.” Fainter text below is difficult to make out.

Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Baltimore Oriole, 1827, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.12

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Carolina Pigeon or Turtle Dove, 1827 hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.17

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, The Mocking Bird, 1827, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.21

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Seven brilliantly colored parrots cluster closely in the rust-brown branches of a slender tree limb in this vertical color engraving. Each bird is in a different pose and shown from a different angle, and together they fill the composition. Their bodies and wings are a riot of emerald, lime, and moss green. One bird, near the bottom center, also has a green head. The rest have bright gold-yellow heads with flame red over the short, curved beaks and around the eyes. Light glints off the bead-like black and brown eyes. The bird at the very bottom of the composition looks at us with an open beak, seeming to smile with one wing outstretched. The twigs are interspersed with spiky-edged oval, tan pods and gray dried leaves. The print is inscribed in three places near the bottom. In the center it reads, “Carolina Parrots. Males 1. F. 2. Young 3. PSITACUS CAROLINENSIS, Plant Vulgo. Cuckle Burr.” On the left, engraved text reads, “Drawn from Nature & Published by John. J. Audubon. F.R.S.E. M.W.S.” On the right, it reads, “Engraved, Printed & Coloured by R. Havell & Son, London.”

Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Carolina Parrot, 1827, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.26

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, White-headed Eagle, 1828, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.31

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Passenger Pigeon, 1829, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.62

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Virginian Partridge, 1830, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.76

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Belted Kingsfisher, 1830, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.77

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Whip-poor-will, 1830, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.82

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Raven, 1831, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.101

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Columbia Jay, 1830, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.96

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Blue Jay, 1831, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.102

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Pileated Woodpecker, 1831, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.111

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Yellow-throated Vireo, 1831, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.119

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Snowy Owl, 1831, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.121

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, American Robin, 1832, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.131

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Yellow-breasted Chat, 1832, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.137

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Goshawk and Stanley Hawk, 1832, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.141

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Cardinal Grosbeak, 1833, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.159

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Forked-tail Flycatcher, 1833, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.168

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Canada Goose, 1834, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.201

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878,, Summer or Wood Duck, 1834, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.206

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Louisiana Heron, 1834, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.217

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Mallard Duck, 1834, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.221

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Hooping Crane, 1834, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.226

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A white bird with long legs, a long neck, and a narrow, pointed beak stands facing our right in profile against a deep landscape in this vertical, colored engraving. Feathers lying close to the neck and body resemble long, soft hair cascading down and off the back of the head, off the bottom of the neck where it meets the body, and around the tail. The bird’s beak and legs are black, and the eye we see and its feet are pale yellow. It stands on a dirt-packed riverbank in front of tall grasses. Grassy fields lead into the deep distance to the right, where a house and outbuildings sit on the horizon about a third of the way up the composition. A person carrying a rifle approaches the riverbank from the far side of a hill near the lower right corner of the print. Thin gray clouds skirt across a mostly blue sky above. Text is printed beneath the image: “Drawn from Nature, by J.J. Audubon. F.R.S. F.L.S.” to the left; “Snowy Heron, or White Egret, Ardea Candidissima, Gm. Male adult spring plumage River Plantation, South Carolina” in the center; and “Engraved, Printed, & Coloured by R. Havell, London. 1835.” to the right.

Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Snowy Heron, or White Egret, 1835, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.242

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, American White Pelican, 1836, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.311

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Black-bellied Darter, 1836, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.316

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Roseate Spoonbill, 1836, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.321

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Golden-eye Duck, 1836, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.342

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Iceland or Jer Falcon, 1837, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.366

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Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, Trumpeter Swan, 1838, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.406

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A dark pink flamingo stands on a shallow outcropping, craning its neck down toward a pool of pale blue water in this vertical print. Shown in profile facing our left, the bird has a curving tan, orange, and black bill, and the eye we can see is bright blue. One charcoal-gray feather tucks under its wing, but the rest of the feathers and its legs are deep rose pink. One webbed foot steps forward, toward the edge of the low, rocky outcropping at the water’s edge. Muted green growth covers the ground, and the exposed edge of the rock is brown. Pale blue water extends back to the horizon, which comes about a third of the way up the composition. Eight pale pink and white flamingos, small in scale in the distance, walk or stand near sandbars in the placid waterway. The sky has a narrow band of light blue along the horizon, and the rest of the background is white. Across the top of the page, nine anatomical drawings, seeming to be lightly sketched, float against the white background. They are details of the bird’s beak, tongue, and foot. Each is numbered from one to nine. In the upper left corner of the paper, text reads, “No. 87.” and in the upper right, “Plate CCCCXXXI.” An inscription in the center margin below the printed image reads, “America Flamingo, PHOENICOPTERUS RUBERT, Linn. Old Male.” To the left is a numbered key: “1. Profile view of Bill at its greatest extension. 2. Superior front view of upper Mandible 3. Interior front view of upper Mandible. 4. Interior front view of lower Mandible. 5. Interior front view of lower Mandible with the Tongue in.” It continues to the right: “6. Profile view of Tongue. 7. Superior front view of Tongue. 8. Inferior front view of Tongue. 9. Perpendicular front view of the foot fully expanded.” Smaller text under the lower left corner of the printed image reads, “Drawn from Nature by J. J. Audubon, F.R.S. F.L.S.” And to the right: “Engraved. Printed and Coloured by Rob. Havell. 1838.”

Robert Havell, American, 1793 - 1878, American Flamingo, 1838, hand-colored etching and aquatint on Whatman paper, Gift of Mrs. Walter B. James, 1945.8.431

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