Grey Owl Framing

Grey Owl Framing Grey Owl Framing specializes in unique and unusual picture frames and mats. I am known for French Ma

I love old colored natural history plates because they were printed in a single color, by various printing processes, th...
09/07/2026

I love old colored natural history plates because they were printed in a single color, by various printing processes, then colored by hand with watercolor.

For example, this Audubon First Edition Octavio plate, ‘Horned Grebe’, c1840 is a lithograph printed from a stone plate, with color added by hand. The image was reflected via prisms onto the stone, and drawn with a ‘greasy’ pencil and stabilized, and the stone was used as the plate for printing. [eg, lithograph].

The paper was printed and the watercoloring was added by hand. When I look at the detail of the coloring, I am amazed by the quality. I wonder how many artists worked for J. T. Bowen, the printer for most of the First edition Octavio ‘Birds of America’ plates. If you have a chance to look at a First Edition Octavio through a magnifying glass you will see the texture of stone, and the amazing hand-coloring.

[Note: later editions used a second stone to add a color tint, but I prefer the first edition because all,of the coloring was by hand.]

The decorative elements include two Rosenoble 23.75 kt. gold, hand-leafed layered bevels, and a hand-painted marble mat. The 9 levels of mats are all cotton rag museum mats.

I have more than 40 of these wonderful First Edition Audubon Octavios, all in similar decorative mat packages, available for purchase.

Creating a grey variegated marble mat for an original natural history plate that was hand-colored 175 years ago can be c...
04/26/2026

Creating a grey variegated marble mat for an original natural history plate that was hand-colored 175 years ago can be challenging.
First the decision is soft variegation or more distinct? The cat bird is primarily singled color so soft variegation.
Base variegated colors. A rose colored base is laid. Add soft variegated accents of red-orange (for the tail), green(for for the leaves), and brown-orange( for the branches) and let to dry. We now have nice variegation.
Creating the top marble mat colors. Red and green can create a wonderful black, so light thin accent washes of these, or (dark brown and black)can be added, and dried.
Panel is two dark so lighten. Either use a commercial grey ( which is more opaque and boring), or add successive very thin variegated washes of white until the density is about right and let dry. The color is too purple, so add a bit of a blue wash, and dry. Color still too purple. So add very thin washes of yellow, until the marble mat matches the color of the bird. Let dry overnight and check after completely dry. Colors are fine, and match with a slight variegation.
This will be perfect once the two hand-gilded Rosenoble layered bevels are added, and documentation, is complete in about 7 days.
The mat package for the Audubon Octavio first edition c1840 hand-colored ‘Cat Bird’ plate number 146 is almost complete.

Audubon’s’Western Duck’, post number 9.The decorative mat package for this Octavo first edition plate, c1840, with origi...
04/02/2026

Audubon’s’Western Duck’, post number 9.
The decorative mat package for this Octavo first edition plate, c1840, with original hand coloring, Is now complete. The Western Duck is now known as a ‘Steller’s Eider’.
These first edition plates were issued by subscription from 1840 to 1844. There were a total of 500 plates. They were issued in sets of 5, and this plate was from issue 82, and is plate number 407.
For printing, the drawings were transferred from the large elephant sized Audubon plates printed in England (1827-1838) to a limestone plate, in reverse. The plates were treated to stabilize the image on the plate, and the images were printed in black, from the stone plate. The prints were then hand-colored. These were all printed and hand-colored in the United States.
The decorative items include a hand-painted marble mat, two 23.75 kt. Rosenoble gold leaf layered bevels, and two hidden spacer mats. The outside mat dimensions are 13”x 16”(or 16”x 13”).

This decorative mat is the last of a set of 32 similar Audubon plates in my shop collection and is available for purchase, either as a complete set or subsets.
If you know of a collector who might be interested, please give them my name.
I hope these posts help describe the many steps involved in preparing these wonderful decorative mat packages. For planning purposes I figure on 15 hours of labor spread over 10 days.

Audubon Western Duck, c1840, post number 8.Four of the gilded bevel strips are on shown on top of the upper window mat; ...
03/25/2026

Audubon Western Duck, c1840, post number 8.
Four of the gilded bevel strips are on shown on top of the upper window mat; they are cut to length and layered beneath the window mat. This design has two gold layered bevels, so there are 8 strips that are layered beneath two separate window mats.

Western Duck, Post number 7.The mat strips for the layered bevels need to be prepared for leafing, leafed and sealed.Gol...
03/16/2026

Western Duck, Post number 7.

The mat strips for the layered bevels need to be prepared for leafing, leafed and sealed.
Gold leaf works best with hard surfaces; mats are soft and porous. I add four base coats to each of the strips. I let each coat dry for between 8 to 12 hours, and do a light sanding.
After the last base coat is completely dry, I wipe the bevel side of the strip with a cotton rag, apply gold size, and leaf the bevel. The result is shown in the photo.
I wait a few minutes, then gently wipe the loose pieces off with a mop brush. Beware these flakes fly everywhere! I inspect the bevel to make sure there are no missing spots that I need to add more leaf.
I let the size and leaf rest at least 36 to 48 hours before I seal the leaf.
I lightly wipe the leafed bevel with a cotton rag and seal with a gloss glaze. I set aside for 8 to 12 hours before adding the leafed layered bevels to the mat.

Western Duck : Post Number 6.The two sets of hand-gilded layered bevels are an impressive touch to the design. Each set...
03/11/2026

Western Duck : Post Number 6.

The two sets of hand-gilded layered bevels are an impressive touch to the design.
Each set starts with four bevel strips that are slightly narrower than the margins. Each strip has a reverse bevel cut on one end, and is cut at a slight angle to allow a tighter fit when they are later attached in place. The area where the gilding will go is marked on each strip. An arrow is added at the ends to show where each strip goes. The strips are longer than necessary and will be trimmed after they are gilded.

Western Duck post number 5.Part of my enjoyment in creating these decorative mat designs is watching the marble mat pate...
02/28/2026

Western Duck post number 5.
Part of my enjoyment in creating these decorative mat designs is watching the marble mat paterns and colors develop- almost on their own.
I start by masking off the area where I don’t want any color. I use removable tape. In this example I used a painters tape for delicate surfaces, which was yellow.
I then added colors to the mat surface and mat bevel, using different applicators such as artists brushes, toothbrushes, makeup brushes, cotton rags, paper towels, tooth picks and sponges.

I start with a base, which in this case was a mix of green, white, and a little black. Then I add color accents and washes. I basically let my subconscious take over. I added some zinc white accents; green-gold accents, with different applicators, then a thin wash of orange. The colors merged and I waited for them to almost dry. The colors were too bright so I added a thin wash of black and blotted with paper towels. Then finally with fine accents of white added with a sponge. I don’t really think about the colors, but just subconsciously add (or subtract with paper towels). My past experience with the color wheel helps. If too green, I add purple, too orange add blue, but I don’t think about it, I just do it.
I also make sure colors on the bevel match the colors on the surface so it looks like a piece of marble.

Western Duck. Post no. 4. Mounting the Audubon plate to the mounting mat. I use 100 percent removable mounting for almos...
02/14/2026

Western Duck. Post no. 4. Mounting the Audubon plate to the mounting mat.
I use 100 percent removable mounting for almost all of my paper based artwork. For this Western Duck plate I used shop made edge mounting strips, made from 1-ply and 1/2 ply cotton rag barrier paper. I allow about 1/32 of an inch clearance from the plate edge to the inside edge of the mounting strips, for expansion.
Notice how the top edge strip has a fold. When the fold is up, the plate can easily slide out of the mat for inspection. The plate is easily slid back into place and the flap is folded down.

The advantage of this mounting method over Japanese paper strips and wheat, rice, or other starch type adhesives, is such paper strips are permanently glued to the artwork, while fully reversible methods leave no evidence of the mounting method used to attach the the art.

I have other 100 percent reversible methods for other lighter, heavier, thicker, more fragile items, so the artwork is not changed by gluing paper strips to the back.

I also added documentation to the mounting mat, beneath the artwork.

Western Duck. Post #3. The bottom window mat is cut and booked to the mounting mat. I use water activated cotton tape ...
02/09/2026

Western Duck. Post #3.
The bottom window mat is cut and booked to the mounting mat. I use water activated cotton tape (also called linen tape), which is shown on the photo. This allows the window mat to be easily opened for accessing the plate once it mounted. The alignment of the window is consistent with mounting mat with this method. ATG, a pressure sensitive adhesive, should not be used to attach the window mat to the mounting mat.

Western Duck. Post number 2.When I get a ‘new’ old antique natural history plate, I inspect it with a magnifying glass. ...
01/23/2026

Western Duck. Post number 2.
When I get a ‘new’ old antique natural history plate, I inspect it with a magnifying glass.
For this plate, I first want to confirm it is really a first edition Octavio ‘Birds of America’ plate. There were seven octavio editions printed between 1840 to 1870, by different publishers. Many sellers and dealers erroneously present some of the later edition plates as first editions when they are not. All the images on all of these early editions were printed from the same stone plate, so it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate editions.
Using a magnifying glass, it is easy to see it is a stone lithograph and not an etching or engraving. (Note the irregular pattern in the background pattern from the stone plate.) Also it is not a photograph from the 2008 Octavio Edition. I check the coloration and also the artist’s block and the printer’s block. The text is the same on all of these early editions even though they were created by different printers. However the text was printed separately from the image because it was not on the stone plate; consequently the type fonts and spacing is different on different editions.
My examination of tge coloring and text confirms, at least to me, this plate iis really a first edition from c1840. (I also also get my plates from reputable sources.)

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