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Ovis Montana, Desm

Object Details

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 sheep, a ram and a ewe, stand on a rocky terrain.
Location
Currently not on view
Data Source
National Museum of American History
printer
Bowen, John T.
artist; publisher
Audubon, John James
maker
Audubon, John Woodhouse
date made
1845
Credit Line
Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
ink (overall material)
Measurements
image: 16 in x 24 in; 40.64 cm x 60.96 cm
Object Name
lithograph
Object Type
Lithograph
Rocky Mountain Sheep
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.
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