A hand coloured antique print entitled La Maubêche.
From ‘Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux’ by George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon.
Published by L’Imprimerie Royale, Paris between 1770 and 1786.
Engraved by
36 volumes of Histoire Naturelle were published during the author’s lifetime with a further eight being produced after his death by Leclerc’s friend Bernard Germain de Lacépède.
Born a man of modest circumstance George-Louis Leclerc secured a massive inheritance from his godfather. With this he travelled to Paris where, after some study, he earned a position as Head of Le Jardin du Roi, a major botanical garden in the city. Here he started his studies of plants and animals in earnest, collecting vast numbers of botanical and zoological specimens and turning the park into an institute of learning.
The coroucu is most likely The Trogon, a bird from the tropical forests of Thailand closest is perhaps the trogon from Thailand’s tropical forest .
Size: 27 x 19.2 cms or 10 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches.
Size of coloured part of image: 19 x 15.3 cms or 7n1/2 x 6 inches.
Condition: Near Fine. There are no significant marks on the coloured part of the image. There are a few blemishes on the white surround. The paper on which the engraving is printed is lightly creased and uneven in shape. This is usual for hand-made paper produced at the time. There are two bits of paper attached to the reverse of the sheet. These were probably once used to affix it to a mount.
