(London): R(obert). Havell, 1835. Variant 1. Hand-colored engraving with aquatint and etching, on J. Whatman watermarked paper, dated 1834. Engraved, printed, and colored by Havell after a painting by Audubon. Modern paper mounted along bottom edge; paper wrinkled along top edge; repaired closed tear in bottom right below Havell imprint; scattered very light spotting in margins. 25 15/16 x 38 3/4 in. (659 x 984 mm). In mat and in frame, 36 1/2 x 47 3/4 in. (927 x 1213 mm). Low, p. 142

A handsome example of Audubon's Purple Heron, plate CCLVI from his Birds of America (London, 1827-38). "Painting and plate depict a white-plumaged bird, left (identified by Audubon as the two-year-old bird in spring plumage), and a reddish-plumaged bird, right (identified by Audubon as the adult in spring plumage), in a habitat consisting of a mound, water, reeds, and a large-leaved plant, left. Audubon collected this species in the Florida Keys in the spring of 1832, and presumably made the painting there." (Low)