"Because the royal octavo edition is a work of art in its own right and the source of much of Audubon's reputation and popularity, Ron Tyler offers an engrossing narrative of the "little work's" conception, production, distribution, and reception. He mines a rich store of hitherto neglected sources, including Audubon family account books, newly discovered original drawings for the octavo edition, numerous proofs for the plates, sales records, and personal correspondence, for a fresh look at this important aspect of Audubon's career." "This study carefully reconstructs the processes that produced the most popular natural history book of the nineteenth century. Tyler describes the changes that Audubon made for his "petit edition," including the addition of seventeen species; explains the printing methods used to produce the plates; discusses, for the first time, the surprising differences between the plates in the double elephant folio and in the royal octavo and subsequent octavo editions; and outlines the way the Audubon family sold and distributed such a large and complex work. From these explorations, Audubon emerges not only as a woodsman artist, but also as a careful and persistent businessman of proven entrepreneurial ability.".