21.     AUDUBON, J[ohn] J[ames]. Canis Latrans, Say, Prairie Wolf. Males. 1/3 Natural Size [at top] N^o. 15. | Plate LXXI. [below] Drawn from Nature by J.J. Audubon, F.R.S. F.L.S. | Lith^d. Printed & Col^d. by J.T. Bowen, Philad^a. 1845. Philadelphia, 1845. Hand-colored lithograph. Image: 47 x 64.4 cm; image and text: 51 x 64.4 cm; overall sheet size: 52 x 69.7 cm. Light browning at blank margins, otherwise very fine. Matted, maple frame, and under Plexiglas.

     First edition. The coyote—alternatively trickster, buffoon, antagonist, hero, and the haunting voice in the night—often figured in Native American, Mexican, and cowboy lore. Although in Audubon’s time coyotes were primarily confined to western America, they have readily adapted to living around humans and have greatly extended their range as competing predators have been hunted out and easy food sources offered by humans have increased. The coyote’s territory now encompasses most of North America, stretching from New England and eastern Canada to Alaska, and they are equally at home in urban, rural, and wilderness settings.

($750-1,500)

Auction 22 Abstracts