Audubon, 1830

AUDUBON, John James (1785-1851), after; LIZARS, William Home (1788-1859), engraver; HAVELL Jr, Robert (1793-1878), aquatint. Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, Linn, Male. [London: Published by the author, 1827-30.]

A handsome example of the life-size wild turkey from Audubon's masterpiece. Originally, The Birds of America was planned to be issued in eighty parts of five plates each, for a total of 400 plates. Eventually, the final count increased to 435 plates in 87 parts as Audubon identified new species from western expeditions to various places including Texas and Oregon. The towering format of the elephant folio-size work was dictated by Audubon's long-standing determination that each species be shown life-size, from the wild turkey down to the hummingbird—even if the former had to curve its neck in an elegant arabesque. Along the way, Audubon was sometimes encouraged to scale down his drawings for print, but he never deviated. His commitment to verisimilitude was no mere gimmickry but grounded in a profound connection with the natural world inseparable from his work. As the very first plate in this extraordinary work, the Turkey is particularly difficult to find in attractive condition. The present print is in the third state, after Havell took over the project from Lizars and re-touched this print with aquatint. The first, Lizars issue has no aquatint. This third variant renames the bird "Wild Turkey" as opposed to "Great American Cock Male" in the first two. Low, Guide to Audubon's Birds, p. 28.

Hand-colored copperplate engraving with aquatint, 965 x 647mm. Some surface soiling, few pale stains to left edge. Two repaired closed tears at lower edge, one encroaching into ground, marginal chipping and reinforcement along left edge. Tipped to mount and framed.