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"Little Chief Hare": An Original Audubon 19th Century Hand-colored Lithograph

Creator: John James Audubon
Offered by: Timeless Intaglio – Rare Prints, Maps & Books

Description
This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored royal octavo lithograph entitled "Little Chief Hare", No. 17, Plate LXXXIII, 83 from Audubon's "Quadrupeds of North America". It was drawn on stone by William Hitchcock, printed and colored by J. T. Bowen and published in 1849-1854. It depicts three Little Chief Hares in a rocky setting. The small rabbit on the left is standing on a flat angled rock. The hare on the right is standing on a higher flat rock. The rabbit in the middle is only seen from the rear as it standing in between two rocks, perhaps for shade. There is a beautiful landscape in the background, with high grass and additional flat rocks on a plain with mountains in the distance.

This original hand-colored Audubon quadruped lithograph has a tiny faint spot in upper portion of the right margin and three holes at the upper edge where it was previously bound in Audubon's book. It is otherwise in very good condition. The sheet measures 7.25" high by 10.5" wide.

John James Audubon (1785-1851) was a naturalist and artist. He was initially unsuccessful financially prior to the publication of his famous work “The Birds of America”, spending time in debtor’s prison, once stabbing a disgruntled investor in self-defense. However, his obsession with birds and art motivated him to persist in his goal of documenting every bird in America via his watercolor paintings and publishing his works for all to enjoy. Audubon's first illustrations were published in a large elephant folio size. Due to their expense they were purchased in rather small numbers by the wealthy. To reach a larger audience, Audubon, with the help of his sons and J. T. Bowen, published a smaller octavo sized lithograph version, which were much more affordable.

With the success of his bird projects, Audubon then turned his attention to four-legged animals. He explored the Missouri River in 1843 sketching the four-legged animals he encountered in their natural setting. His expedition covered some of the same regions recently explored by Lewis and Clark, traveling from present day Alaska to Mexico. Audubon realized that this was an opportunity to document these animals in the still relatively pristine American wilderness, before man encroached on their environment.

Between 1845 and 1848, Audubon and his sons John Woodhouse Audubon and Victor Gifford Audubon produced a set of elephant folio sized lithographs that were primarily engraved and hand colored by J. T. Bowen in Philadelphia. The publication, which included text descriptions of the animals was published 3 years before Audubon died. As with the birds, this was followed by a three-volume set of 155 octavo-sized plates entitled “The Quadrupeds of North America” completed and published by Audubon’s sons, John, Jr. and Victor.

Audubon prints continue to be popular and a wise investment. The double elephant folio set “The Birds of America” have sold at auction for as much as $8.8 million, and individual plates may sell for six figures. The beautiful octavo sized plates are not as expensive, but becoming more sought after, as the folio bird plates become unattainable to all but the very wealthy.

More Information

Documentation:	Signed
Period:	18th Century
Condition:	Good.
Styles / Movements:	Traditional
Incollect Reference #:	570468

Dimensions

W.	10.5 in;	H.	7.25 in;
W.	26.67 cm;	H.	18.42 cm;

Message from Seller:

Timeless Intaglio is an online gallery of rare and collectable antiquarian prints, maps and books. Although we specialize in all forms of vintage printed works on paper, the majority were created with the intaglio method of transferring ink from a plate, usually copper, to paper with a technique utilizing pressure generated by a press. Email us directly: rbreiman@timelessintaglio.com