Loates Master Edition
1992
Master lithographer M. Bernard Loates created these very limited edition prints of 10 Audubon images in 1992. Working from original Havell/Audubon engravings, Loates and his crew of printing and colorist master craftsmen began by stripping the images back to the original black line engravings. The colorists hand-mixed German "Light Fast" inks to match the actual live plumage of the birds depicted. Colors were added one ar a time using hand-cut overlays. Each image was passed up to 60 times through the single-color press. The extremely fine 400 line screens produce a photograph-like continuous tone image even under magnification. Paper is 19½ by 27 inches, archival, 100% rag, acid-free stock custom made and specially watermarked by Manadnock Mills, New Hampshire. Only 130 sets of signed and numbered proofs were released to the US market; the remaining 620 sets were contracted to a Canadian dealer to be distributed only in that market. The flats and plates were destroyed after production.
The 10 plates chosen for this project were:
| Plate Number | Image Name |
|---|---|
| 17 | Mourning Dove |
| 41 | Ruffed Grouse |
| 47 | Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
| 76 | Bobwhite & Red Shouldered Hawk |
| 177 | White Crowned Pigeon |
| 211 | Great Blue Heron |
| 221 | Mallard Ducks |
| 242 | Snowy Egret |
| 411 | Whistling Swan |
| 431 | American Flamingo |
A brief biography of John James Audubon can be found here.
Audubon Gallery Home | Audubon House Home | John James Audubon Biography
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