ppenheimer Editions, llc

John James Audubon 

Audubon's Fifty Best

Strictly Limited to 150 complete sets

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Audubon's Birds of America, comprised of 435 hand-colored engravings, was twelve years (1826-1838) in the making. Its masterfully designed compositions are clearly the work of a great artist. Hailed in his lifetime for his artistic achievement, Audubonıs status as an artist has continued to increase, and his work remains unchallenged as the superlative example of its genre.

Timing is everything. There are several important reasons why this was the perfect time in history to remake Audubon's Birds of America. When I first approached Ben Williams, Field Museum Librarian, with the idea of publishing Audubonıs Fifty Bestİ from the world famous Field Museum folio, he agreed with three stipulations. One, that we utilize state-of-the-art Giclée digital printing; two, that the number produced be strictly limited; and three, that there be no compromise that would, in any way, inhibit the quality of the prints. Heretofore, this technique was not possible, and the most prized possession of the museum rare book library would not have been made available for such a purpose.

The Oppenheimer Field Museum Edition of Audubonıs Fifty Bestİ is the first facsimile edition to accurately replicate the quality of the first Audubon edition of Birds of America completed in the 1830s.This publication achieves an esthetic quality that we can endorse as comparable to the originals. The remarkable similarity to the hand-colored Havell engravings cannot be overstated.

Each print is on Somerset velvet, an acid-free, cotton, and rag watercolor paper imported from England. The bottom right corner bears the Oppenheimer Editionsı embossed stamp. The verso of each print is stamped, numbered and signed by The Field Museum Librarian.