Pinnated Grouse, Blue-green Warbler, and Nashville Warbler (Plate CCCXXXVII / 337)
Hand-colored aquatint and engraved print on handmade paper, framed format • After John James Audubon; engraved, printed, and coloured by Robert Havell Jr.
Style & Movement
Natural History Illustration / American Ornithology
Medium & Technique
Hand-colored engraving and aquatint etching on wove paper, printed from copper plates and meticulously hand-colored with watercolor or gouache
Creation Period
Circa 1830-1838 (Publication period of the Havell edition of The Birds of America)
Dimensions & Format
Approximately 25 x 38 inches (Double Elephant Folio sheet size), vertical portrait format
Subject Description
Scientific ornithological illustration depicting a large male Pinnated Grouse (Greater Prairie Chicken) prominently in the foreground displaying its characteristic golden neck sacs, accompanied by smaller perched and foraging insectivorous birds (identified in the plate inscription as Blue-green Warbler and Nashville Warbler) against a minimal tinted natural landscape background
Condition & Value Assessment
Condition Assessment
Good condition; the sheet appears clean with vibrant hand-coloring well-preserved, though unexamined outside the modern mat and frame
Estimated Market Value
$10,000 - $20,000 USD
Auction Estimate
$8,000 - $15,000 USD
Provenance History
Sourced from a disbound subscriber copy of John James Audubon's monumental 'The Birds of America' Havell edition, passing through historic print trade and private collections into contemporary auction or gallery inventory, bearing a yellow auction or gallery tracking tag marked 'DR' on the mat
Art Historical Significance
Extremely significant as a plate from Audubon's 'The Birds of America,' widely considered one of the finest ornithological works ever produced and a masterpiece of 19th-century scientific illustration, combining artistic mastery with empirical field observation
Notable Features
Includes clear plate text at the bottom detailing the subjects ('1. Pinnated Grouse, 2. Blue-green Warbler, 3. Nashville Warbler'), characteristic double elephant folio sheet proportions, and high-quality hand-coloring typical of the London Havell production
Condition Issues
Potential minor acidification from backing materials, possible light-stining or fading if previously exposed to direct sunlight, and margins unexamined for trimming
Conservation Recommendations
Preserve in archival conditions utilizing acid-free matting, UV-filtering museum glass, and climate-controlled environment maintaining stable relative humidity between 45-50 percent