[Prints] Audubon, John J. Passenger Pigeon

(London): John J. Audubon, (1834). Variant 2. Hand-colored engraving with aquatint and etching, on J. Whatman watermarked paper, dated 1834. Engraved, printed, and colored by R(obert). Havell, after a painting by Audubon. Light mat burn; scattered small spotting. 38 x 25 in. (965 x 635 mm). In mat and in frame, 40 x 34 1/2 in. (1016 x 876 mm). Low, p. 65

Audubon's Passenger Pigeon, plate LXII from his Birds of America (London, 1827-38). "Painting and plate are alike, with the female, above, sitting on a thin lichen-covered branch with a few dead leaves attached. The male is below on a thicker branch. They are leaning toward each other with their beaks entwined and they form a lovely S-shaped curve." Likely painted by Audubon in Pittsburgh, in 1824. Now extinct, "the last specimen of this bird taken in the wild is believed to be one shot at Sargento, Pike County, Ohio, on March 24, 1900. The last living individual died in captivity in the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens in Ohio on September 1, 1914. In Audubon's time, this bird was so plentiful that he wrote about flocks passing a point for days, so thick that they darkened the sky. It is hard to believe that a bird once so abundant could become extinct in only seventy-five years." (Low)

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

To request further details about this lot, please email [email protected]

Please contact the Auction Specialist for details.

Darren Winston

SVP, Head of Department, Books and Manuscripts, Philadelphia

[email protected]

Darren Winston, Senior Vice President at Freeman’s, has served as Head of Department for Books & Manuscripts, Philadelphia, since 2018. He has been a trustee of the Rosenbach Museum and Library since 2022, is a member of The Manuscript Society, The Bibliographical Society of America, and Philadelphia’s Philobiblon Club.

Raised in northern New Jersey, Darren moved to New York City in 1988 and began his career there as a bookseller in 1995. He spent the next 18 years selling to private clients and at East Coast book fairs. In 2003 he moved with his young family to Sharon, Connecticut where, in 2009, he opened his own bookshop. Darren Winston, Bookseller offered rare and vintage books, prints, fine art, and more, and hosted over 50 book signings and art shows. He was a trustee and, later, Board President, of the Sharon Historical Society, and for six years a trustee of Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Darren has hosted the radio program "Darren Winston's Book Report" for NPR-affiliate WHDD since 2009, appeared in the 2014 book-themed documentary The Paper Trail, and in 2024 he joined Antiques Roadshow as a books and manuscripts appraiser. From 1999 to 2005, Darren was the buyer and consultant to the Fine and Rare Books Department at Asprey, the British luxury goods company, at its New York headquarters. While there he spearheaded various in-store events including readings by Salman Rushdie and Dominick Dunne.

In 1993, Darren was hired as a Creative Consultant to Columbia Records, where he assisted in the repackaging of their 12-record Aerosmith back catalogue. He later sold his extensive collection of Aerosmith memorabilia, which he began amassing at the age of 14, directly to the band.

Darren now lives on the Main Line, outside Philadelphia, with his wife, two children, and dog. The family travels frequently to his wife's native England and Scotland. When not bookselling, he plays guitar in Pumped, an Aerosmith tribute band. Darren also appears on the top-rated PBS television program Antiques Roadshow.

Books and Manuscripts

[Prints] Audubon, John J. Passenger Pigeon

Lot Description

Condition Report

Preview

Auction Contact

Shipping | Pickup