Audubon Aquatint Engraving, Brown Pelican, Plate 421

Brown Pelican, Plate 421. John James Audubon (1785-1851). First Edition Engravings with Original Hand Color. London: Robert Havell, 1827-1838. 26 1/2 x 39 inches sheet, 37 x 49 1/2 inches framed. Guidance: Mid-Hudson, 2015 - $107,360. Christie’s, 2004 - $77,675. “The Brown Pelican, which is one of the most interesting of our American birds... Look at them as they fly over the bay; listen to the sound of the splash they make as they drive their open bills, like a pock-net, into the sea, to scoop up their prey; and snatch up the frightened fishes that strive to escape from them. Down they go, again and again. What voracious creatures they are! ” - Audubon’s Ornithological Biography, 1831