AUDUBON'S GREATEST TRIUMPH 197 



no dates, and, so far as known, the first date of the 

 entire series was "1828," which was added to Plate 31 

 (the White-headed Eagle), but was erased from later 

 issues. When Robert Havell, Junior, retouched Lizar's 

 engraving of the Turkey Hen (No. II, Plate vi), he 

 added the date "1829," but in a third or later edition the 

 name was changed and the date removed. This same 

 date appears also on the retouched Plate ii, of the Yel- 

 low-billed Cuckoo, and on that of the Purple Grackle 

 or Crow Blackbird (Plate vii). A curious error crept 

 into the first impressions of the former plate, which 

 was mislabeled "Black-billed Cuckoo," a bird then rec- 

 ognized as quite distinct. 16 Plates xxxi to Ixxv (1828- 

 29) were all dated in the first issue, and bore the names 

 of both Havells; the legends are: "Engraved, Printed & 

 Coloured by R. Havell & Son, London, 1828," and "En- 

 graved by Rob 1 . Havell, Jun r . Printed & Coloured by 

 R. Havell Sen r . London, 1828," or "1829" (British 

 Museum copy), but when later printed by Robert, the 

 younger, the dates were erased. All subsequent dating 

 of the plates was somewhat irregular until 1834 (Plate 

 ccii), but from that point to the end of the series, the 

 year of issue was consistently added to each plate. Or- 

 nithologists are specially interested in the time of publi- 

 cation, since forty-seven new specific names occur on 

 Audubon's large plates, and should date from them 

 and not from the letterpress which followed. 



To illustrate what has been said of successive edi- 

 tions of Audubon's plates, we shall give the legends of 

 two or three of the most famous, taken from copies in 



16 In 1914 Dr. Samuel Henshaw showed me an impression of this sup- 

 pressed plate, and also a large printed label, cut from a board backing, 

 which bore within an ornamental border the title "Audubon's Birds of 

 America Engraved, printed, and colored by Lizars &c. &c." This sug- 

 gests that Lizars may have issued the first two numbers, which he en- 

 graved, in portfolio. 



