Just prior to the completion of the double-elephant folio lithographs of The Birds of North America, Audubon had already decided to publish a much smaller version of The Birds. He discussed his plans with his friend and colleague, the Reverend John Bachman, and both men decided that a royal octavo version would result in both a greater number of subscriptions (due to its lower cost than the double-elephant size) as well as a chance for Audubon to include additional species.

In Philadelphia in 1840, Audubon began production on a royal octavo size of The Birds and arranged for the lithography to be done by John T. Bowen (who also was the lithographer for the McKenney and Hall Native American prints). Audubon did several of the birds himself, but most of the work was done by one of his sons, John Woodhouse Audubon, via the camera lucida technique, requiring a prism to cast the image onto another surface at a reduced size. The first edition was complete by 1844 and was sold in seven bound volumes comprising 100 sets of 5 species each, for a total of 500 plates with one species per plate. The double-elephant folio lithographs were limited to 435 plates, but several of them included multiple species.

The Royal Octavo Birds, or as Audubon called them "The Birds in Miniature," were an immediate success, fulfilling his and Bachman's belief of a more affordable set selling at $100, instead of the $1000 for which the double elephant folio sold. It is unknown exactly how many complete sets were made for the first edition, but the number is estimated to have been between 1000 and 1200. Slight differences occur in the botanical backgrounds of some plates, but most plates were reproduced identically to the double-elephants. There were eight editions in all (the last having been published in 1871), and first edition lithographs are most easily recognized by the lack of a lithographic wash.

Gilley's Gallery is pleased to offer a varied assortment of original first edition octavo lithographs (1840 - 1844). All prints are in excellent condition and are kept protective individual sleeves. If you have any questions regarding a specific octavo lithograph, please send us an email or give us a call.