Featured This Bird in Hand is Worth.....

Came across this double elephant folio size Brown Pelican at a small local auction house. I paid $180 inclusive of buyers premium. As soon as I got home, I removed the frame and examined it closely to conclude it was an original 1860 Joseph Bien Audubon print. While not as valuable as the original Havell edition prints, prints from this edition are rarer and still carry a significant price tag.

Next I reached out to the industry experts (Princeton Audubon Society and Joel Oppenheimer), as well as my contact at Skinner auctions to get their thoughts. All confirmed my suspicions but came back with a wide range of values, ranging from $5,000-$7,000 (skinner) to $15,000-$18,000 (princeton). Being conservative, I will lean toward the low end but decided to keep it. After all, I am collector, not a reseller and these experiences always make collecting fun!

 

SCORE!!! Congrats!

 

Looks to have some color fading - don't know if that will affect value too much. The back of the neck should be a brown not greenish - unless that is just from the lighting?
Nice purchase.

 

... two in the bush.

Sorry it bothered me that it wasn't finished.

 

WOW!!!!!!!

 

Values were based on the condition of this specific print, giving consideration to fading, as well as trimming. That being said, my photos as usual are terrible! Thanks.

 

congrats!

 

Real score!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

To your point, Ray, here is one that Joel Oppenheimer is offering and I agree there is some fading to mine (since these were published in books, trimming is almost always the case). Perhaps why he suggested $10-$12k.

https://www.audubonart.com/shop/pro...423-brown-pelican-16448?page=2&search=Pelican

 

Note to self: buy original Audubon prints for $180!

They are all beautiful but you lucked out in getting this one IMO. It’s such a neat bird!

 

GREAT BUY Daniel !!! ..Well Done, .. Joy.

 

In this article by Ron Flynn, it was interesting to note the coloring discrepancy across volumes for the same plate. Likely, still some fading though.