Audubon Royal Octavo Second Edition

After the death of their father in 1851, Audubon's sons decided to continue publishing his " Birds of America" work in the same Royal Octavo size of the first edition. The "Second Edition" was published in 1856 using the same stones as the first edition with one exception. A second stone was added that imparted a colored tint to the images. Normally a blue, green, or beige tint was used on the stone.

This made the "Second Edition" stand apart from the original first edition of 1840-1844 which had a white background. Subsequent later editions continued the use of a colored printed background. This makes identifying the difference between 1st and later editions a much easier undertaking. All editions were hand colored and made from stone lithography by the firm of J.T. Bowen, the foremost lithographer and printer of the time.

We have over 200 2nd edition prints. Only a few images are pictured here at this time. Please contact us if interested in a particular bird. A more complete listing will be posted in the future or you can call for our current listing.

*More images will be added in the next few days. Please have patience as we are a new, and learning, web site.*