Rare Prints Edition Giclee' - Fish Hawk or Osprey Plate 81 (Limited Edition of 500)
$955.00
Rare Prints Editions is a division of Rare-Prints.com that creates high quality Giclee' reproductions of Audubon's work. They are exact facsimiles of Audubon's original hand colored engravings showcasing his amazing talent and the timeless beauty of his life's work. The Giclee' method provides the very best reproductions of original works available today. Using ultra high resolution images from top of the line digital cameras the Giclee' printer sprays ink on watercolor paper at up to 4,000 dpi. The result is a reproduction that has all the color, detail and texture qualities of each original. These are truly beautiful pieces of art. You will even notice differences in paper tone that match the tone of the each individual print's original paper. Each image is printed with archival ink on 330 gram Somerset Velvet Enhanced paper with beautiful deckled edges and is a full-size facsimile of an actual original. The bird images measure approximately 26" x 40". Rare Prints Editions Reproductions represent the best value on the market for high quality reproductions of Audubon's works.
Rare Prints Edition Giclee' - Great Blue Heron. Plate 211 (Limited Edition of 500)
$1,900.00
Rare Prints Editions is a division of Rare-Prints.com that creates high quality Giclee' reproductions of Audubon's work. They are exact facsimiles of Audubon's original hand colored engravings showcasing his amazing talent and the timeless beauty of his life's work. The Giclee' method provides the very best reproductions of original works available today. Using ultra high resolution images from top of the line digital cameras the Giclee' printer sprays ink on watercolor paper at up to 4,000 dpi. The result is a reproduction that has all the color, detail and texture qualities of each original. These are truly beautiful pieces of art. You will even notice differences in paper tone that match the tone of the each individual print's original paper. Each image is printed with archival ink on 330 gram Somerset Velvet Enhanced paper and is a full-size facsimile of an actual original. The bird images measure approximately 26" x 40". Rare Prints Editions Reproductions represent the best value on the market for high quality reproductions of Audubon's works.
Rare Prints Edition Giclee' - Gyrfalcon Plate 366 (Limited Edition of 500)
$1,300.00
Rare Prints Editions is a division of Rare-Prints.com that creates high quality Giclee' reproductions of Audubon's work. They are exact facsimiles of Audubon's original hand colored engravings showcasing his amazing talent and the timeless beauty of his life's work. The Giclee' method provides the very best reproductions of original works available today. Using ultra high resolution images from top of the line digital cameras the Giclee' printer sprays ink on watercolor paper at up to 4,000 dpi. The result is a reproduction that has all the color, detail and texture qualities of each original. These are truly beautiful pieces of art. You will even notice differences in paper tone that match the tone of the each individual print's original paper. Each image is printed with archival ink on 330 gram Somerset Velvet Enhanced paper with beautiful deckled edges and is a full-size facsimile of an actual original. The bird images measure approximately 26" x 40". Rare Prints Editions Reproductions represent the best value on the market for high quality reproductions of Audubon's works.
Please take some time to read this page before contacting us about your prints.
Also Note: We do not do appraisals or give valuations.
We buy and sell some original Audubon Havell Edition, Bien Edition and Octavo Edition Prints.
Please use this page to determine what you have before contacting us via our contact form.
*Sending us a message is the best way to get information after you have identified your prints.
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Example of the watermark that authenticates prints from the original Havell Edition. Back lighting the paper reveals the mark. Which runs on the long edge of the paper near one corner.
Audubon Print Identification
Due to a large number of questions regarding the identification of Audubon Prints, I thought that it might help my viewers to go through a check list to determine if their prints could be one of the more valuable editions that are out there. This checklist is in no way an absolute. It will give you a few points to check that may eliminate your prints from the most valuable editions available.
First is the size of the print and in some cases the watermark.
Havell Edition - Important Factors - (FOR OTHER EDITIONS SEE BELOW)
1. Must have a Whatman Watermark (See example above),
2. Size - Birds Must be life size
3. Paper should be around 26"x39" unless trimmed.
4. Text - All Havell Edition prints and reproductions have the same text. Some reproductions have additional text.
5. Immediate Disqualification - If your print includes the text "From the Collection of", "Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company", "Old Print Shop", "Limited Edition", "New York Historical Society", "Hoffmann-La Roche Inc." it is not from one of the editions described below and it is not of great value. They sell on www.ebay.com consistently and that is the best place to research the value of this edition.
6. Text only appears in five areas of the original Havell Edition Prints. Top and bottom Left, Top and Bottom Right and bottom center. In a small number of cases there is only a plate number top center.
Click Here for an example of the location of text on Havell Edition Prints
The original aquatints created by Robert Havell, Jr. in the 1840's were produced on double elephant folio paper. The size of the Havell Edition prints is 26" x 39.5". If your print is not close to this size it most likely has little or no value.) Some prints are slightly smaller and some slightly larger due to some being cut out of bound volumes and other having never been bound, but this is the general size. There have been many reproductions in sizes much smaller than the originals. There are many size ranges from 8"x10" to 16"x20" These have little or no value. They sometimes say that they were reproduced by an insurance company or a library or a press. While they say R. Havell on the bottom right corner they are not the originals. The size can sometimes be deceiving since many of the originals have been cut down to fit in frames. Audubon painted all of his subject in true life size and did not always fill up the whole sheet of paper. This is another indicator. If you have a picture of a bird that is only 6" tall on the print but stands 3' tall in nature it is either a reproduction or it may be an Octavo Edition print. (see Octavos below) The only way to confirm a Havell Edition Print that meets the other criteria is to find the watermark on the paper. You must hold the print up to a light source and you should be able to see the words "J Whatman" and the date. In some cases the watermark will also include the words "Turkey Mill". Whatman made the paper that Havell used in printing. Whatman also supplied the excellent paper for Prideux John Selby's, Illustrations of British Ornithology. Click Here to see an example of a watermark. For a history of Turkey Mill where Whatman made this paper click here.
PLEASE NOTE: If your print includes the text "From the Collection of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company", "Old Print Shop", "Limited Edition", or "New York Historical Society" it is not from one of the editions described above and is not of great value. They sell on www.ebay.com consistently and that is the best place to research the value of this edition.
Bien Edition - Important Factors - Bottom Right Text includes the name "Bien", Size - Birds Must be life size.
The Bien Edition was also produced on Double Elephant Folio paper but not on Whatman paper. The Bien Edition prints do not carry a watermark. They do however credit Bien on the bottom right hand corner of the print instead of R. Havell. The catch with the Bien prints is that they sometimes put two different subjects on one sheet of paper. The size of the birds is still life size but sometimes the two images have been cut apart for framing. In this case only one of the two images has the Bien credit on the bottom right corner.
Octavo Edition Prints - Important Factors Size - approximately 6.5"x10.5". (Never 8"x10" or 8.5"x11")
The Octavo Edition prints are approximately 6.5"x10.5". (Never 8"x10" or 8.5"x11") The name Octavo comes from the paper size being 1/8 the Double Elephant Folio. There were several editions of the octavos done in the same size. Distinguishing between the octavo editions is a more intricate process. There is an excellent book on the First Edition called Audubon's Great National Work by Ron Tyler 1993 (University of Texas Press). It is out of print but can sometimes be found in used book stores.
Rare Prints Edition - We started publishing these prints in 2008. Our Giclee' reproductions are very high resolution reproductions of original Havell Edition prints and are very difficult to distinguish from an original Havell Edition prints when framed. They are on beautiful cotton paper but they do not have a watermark and the back of the paper is pure white while the image side is printed with the paper color of the original. We emboss the prints in the top left corner with the words "Rare Prints Edition".
Amsterdam Edition - Important Factors Watermark ="G Schut and Zonen (JR) (OT) Audubon" Size - Birds must be life size.
The Amsterdam Edition was a full size exact reproduction of the original Havell Edition completed in the 1970's. The process used was photolithography. The paper is the same double elephant folio size as the Havell Edition and the Bien Edition approximately 26"x39.5". The Amsterdam Edition prints have a Watermark "G Schut and Zonen (JR) (OT) Audubon".
There is also excellent information Here http://www.auduboninfo.net/authenticate/authenticate.htm. Please enjoy researching what you have before contacting us.
PLEASE NOTE: If your print includes the text "From the Collection of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company", "Old Print Shop", "Limited Edition", or "New York Historical Society" it is not from one of the editions described above and is not of great value. They sell on www.ebay.com consistently and that is the best place to research the value of this edition.
Next is the close-up view
One quick way to tell the old from the new is with a magnifying glass or a jeweler's loop. Most of the less valuable reproductions that are out there were reproduced using photolithography (like the Amsterdam Edition noted above). A photolithography is made up of millions of tiny colored dots which are visible under magnification. If you look closely at a magazine or newspaper you can see these dots. The Havell Edition was printed from engraved copper plates in black ink then hand colored so there are no dots, The Bien Edition was printed from stone printing plates created by hand so there are no dots. The same goes for the Octavo editions. No dots. The Amsterdam Edition has the dots and it has been considered an investment grade reproduction since the entire edition was completed and bound in full sets on high quality paper. For Amsterdam identification you must look for the watermark "G Schut and Zonen (JR) (OT) Audubon" mentioned above.
I hope this helps some of you with identifying your prints.