AUDUBON, John James (1785 - 1851).
Mottled Owl (Little Screech Owl), Plate 97.
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
London: Robert Havell, 1827-1838.
39 5/8" x 26 5/8" sheet, with deckled uncut edges.

Provenance: John Vickers Painter's Collection, Deckled Uncut.

Comparable: Arader Galleries, 2016 - $10,625, Arader Galleries, 2019 - $9,750.

Lots 1-10 are wonderful examples of Audubon's aquatints, and are the finest we have ever seen. Of the roughly 180 sets of Audubon produced from 1827-1838, we know of only six that were never bound (one for King William, one in Moscow and 4 others). These aquatints come from one of the unbound sets owned by John Vickers Painter in Cleveland in the 1880's. Because it was never bound, they have huge untrimmed paper sheets of approximately 39 1/2" x 26 1/2" in size, while a standard bound Audubon has a paper size of 38 5/8" x 25 3/4". To collectors, a full uncut sheet makes a tremendous difference. Beyond this, they are in mint original condition with no restoration, and color with the highest level of gradations creating compelling dimension and depth.

"You are presented, kind reader, with three figures of this species, the better to shew you the differences which exist between the young and the full-grown bird. The contrast of colouring in these different stages I have thought it necessary to exhibit, as the Red Owl of WILSON and other naturalists is merely the young of the bird called by the same authors the Mottled Owl, and which, in fact, is the adult of the species under consideration" (Audubon's Ornithological Biography, 1831).