Plate 255. Royal Octavo, second edition.
Rare proof after tinting but without hand coloring. See numbers 66 to 69, as well as 92 to 96.
Note differences with 18. The orientation changes from vertical to horizontal. The two birds on the left are larger. The background, although similar to the previous one, has been completely redrawn. Such modifications are not infrequent between the first and second Royal Octavo editions.
As noted in EDITIONS above, John James Audubon was actively involved in the preparation of the first Royal Octavo edition (1839-1844), but his sons John Woodhouse and Victor Gifford were responsible for the next edition (1856). They asked the publisher Bowen to add the tinting, and they frequently altered the images. The Belted Kingfisher prints offer a clear example of these differences between the editions.
