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Ursus Americanus, Pallas.

National Museum of American History

Object Details

printer
Bowen, John T.
artist
Audubon, John Woodhouse
publisher
Audubon, John James
Description (Brief)
This hand-colored lithograph was produced for “Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America,” the Imperial folio edition, published between 1845 and 1848. The work was a field study of North American mammals. It included 150 stone lithographs produced in three volumes of 50 prints per volume. The lithographs were based on watercolor drawings by John James Audubon and after 1846, son John Woodhouse Audubon, who completed the series due to the elder Audubon’s failing eyesight and declining health. Another son, Victor Gifford Audubon, assisted with the drawings backgrounds. The lithographs were printed on non-watermarked heavy white paper and coloring was applied by hand before the prints were bound. Reverend John Bachman was a naturalist of note, as well as John James Audubon’s friend and father of both daughter-in-laws, so he provided the accompanying letterpress narrative. It made the production truly a family affair. The slightly later Octavo edition contained 155 prints of smaller size.
This unbound lithographic plate depicts a hand-colored image of two black bear facing each other in a forest. An animal leg is at the foot of the bear on the right.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
1848
ID Number
DL.60.2757
catalog number
60.2757
accession number
228146
Object Name
lithograph
Object Type
Lithograph
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
ink (overall material)
Measurements
image: 17 1/2 in x 25 1/2 in; 44.45 cm x 64.77 cm
place made
United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Related Publication
Audubon, John James; Bachman, Rev. John; Audubon, John Woodhouse. The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America
See more items in
Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
Art
Peters Prints
Domestic Furnishings
National Museum of American History
depicted
Wild Animals
used
Books
Subject
Chronology: 1840-1849
depicted
Mammals
Record ID
nmah_325059
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a1-35ec-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
American Black Bear
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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