by Don Boarman, Museum Curator
A few weeks ago several of us had a rare treat. The copper printing plate in our possession since last fall was taken off display and, for the first time in 164 years, used to produce a print. For those of us in attendance, it was a moving experience.
One of the possibilities discussed before the plate was purchased was the opportunity at some future date to produce what in the print trade are called "restrikes". These are prints produced from an antique printing plate after the principals (John James Audubon and Robert Havell) ceased to be connected.
This has been done before, at least six times, by other institutions that own an original printing plate. We’re speaking of Audubon plates here, though there have been other restrikes done connected to other artists. For collectors of antique prints this is the next best thing to owning a rare original print, which may be unavailable or too expensive.
The big question and the reason for this "trial run", was to determine whether or not the quality of the print would be marketable. If the prints were near perfect, that is free of major blemishes, we planned to have a small number hand colored just as the original prints by Audubon and Havell.
The few remaining copper plates have had an interesting and hard life. Audubon valued them highly and went to great lengths to protect them. When the Audubons returned to America in 1839 the plates were stored in a New York warehouse. That warehouse burned to the ground in 1845 and many of the plates were severely damaged.
The Audubon family then built a special storage building on their property they called "the cave". Here the plates were kept until Audubon’s widow Lucy was forced to offer them for sale sometime around 1865. Lucy finally consigned them to Phelps, Dodge and Company in New York. Stacked in storage until 1873, that firm, unable to sell them for what they were, decided to melt them down as scrap metal. During this process Charles Cowles, the fourteen-year old son of the plant manager, witnessed the destruction and with the aid of his mother managed to save about 80 of the original 435. All this and a lot more we don’t have a record of had resulted in numerous scratches on the printing surface.
So now, here we were, about to step back in history and do something not done since Robert Havell’s staff last pulled a print from our plate back in 1838. The process was described, the ink applied and carefully wiped away time after time until only the ink in the engraving lines remained, the plate was laid face up on the printing press, paper and a cushion of felt layered on top and the button pushed. The heavy roller turned across the plate and a hush fell over the crowd. As Professor Michael Aahkus of the University of Southern Indiana at Evansville lifted the leading edge of the paper, revealing the sharp image of Audubon’s Plate #308, the Tell Tale Godwit, there was an emotional applause. We had done it! We had seen it! It wasn’t bad!
Later, away from the heat of the moment, Friends of Audubon and Audubon State Park staff decided to leave the plate as it is, with all the scratches and nicks of its long path to the year 2002. Sure, we could send it away to be reconditioned and polished like new but a big part of its history would be gone forever. We purchased the plate for its valuable part in the history of John James Audubon and his work. We were thrilled when we first were able to hold it in our hands. Now, we would not send it back through history to have its scars removed.
However, it was decided to release a limited number of uncolored impressions. This is being done to help replenish the treasury of Friends of Audubon and to share a rare moment in history with the public.
Initially, a run of 100 prints will be produced on archival paper of the same dimensions used by Audubon and Havell. These will be sold for $500.00 each. A letter offering two weeks to purchase a restrike print will be sent to all paid members of Friends of Audubon and to those at USI that attended the print demonstration. During this two-week period, only one print per person can be purchased. At some future date, a decision will be made to release a second 100, depending on the condition of the plate. Again, in the coming years another 100 will be released. After each release of 100 prints the plate will be examined to determine its condition. No more than 500 of these uncolored restrikes will ever be printed.