Nouveau recueil de planches coloriées d'oiseaux, pour servir de suite et de complément aux planches enluminées de Buffon.

6 vol., large 4to, 594 (of 600) pl. (pl. 342 and pl. 596-600 lacking, some min. spotting and soiling not really affecting the plates, some min. offsetting).

Contemp. half shagreen, cloth on covers, gilt orn. spines decor. with small gilt birds.

Temminck's magnum opus and "Un des livres les plus beaux et des plus importants que l'on ait sur l'ornithologie" (Brunet) which forms a kind of continuation to Buffon's "Histoire naturelle des oiseaux". Illustrated with 594 (of 600) hand-coloured engraved plates by and after Nicolas Huet and J.G. Prêtre of which 4 on double page. The plates depict approximately 800 birds, with many of the specimens depicted from the collection of Guillaume Laugier, baron de Chartrouse (1772-1843), botanist, ornithologist, politician and heritage guardian. One of Europe's foremost private collectors of birds. Temminck (1778-1858), Dutch aristocrat and zoologist, contributed the most to the work. He also was the first director of the National Museum of Natural History in Leiden and is regarded as one of the foremost ornithologists of his time. The work was first published by Gabr. Dufour, later by Levrault. In addition to the text dealing with the birds, which consists chiefly of technical details, our copy comes with a Prospectus (11 pp.) by Cuvier in volume I. Because of the complexity and irregularity in the publishing of the parts, collations for this work vary. Our copy contains 100 (of 102) parts and no Postscriptum, "Tableau méthodique", titles or French titles.
Ref. Nissen 932. - Anker 502/03. - Rosnil 2892. - Brunet V:694. - BnF.
Prov. Vicomte Vilain XIIII (bookpl.).