librarycompany:

Us, following the scent of pumpkin pie…

This cute little red fox is from Audubon’s Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America. (New York : J.J. Audubon, 1845-1848).  Audubon is best known as a bird artist, but after he had completed his elephant folio Birds of America in 1838, he turned his attention to mammals. He used the same huge format and the techniques that had made him famous, drawing all specimens full-size from direct observation in lushly rendered natural habitats and in life-like postures and activities. However, instead of having his 150 plates engraved on copper in England, he had them drawn on stone and printed in Philadelphia by master lithographer J.T. Bowen.