A hand coloured antique print entitled Le Jaseur.
From ‘Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux’ by George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon.
Published by L’Imprimerie Royale, Paris between 1770 and 1786.
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 research.
Le Jaseur translates as Cedar Waxwing. This bird is named for its wax-like wingtips. It is native to North and South America. It eats cedar cones, fruit and insects.
Size: 27 x 20 cms or 10 1/2 x 7 3/4 inches.
Size of the coloured part of the image: 19.5 x 15.5 cms or 7 5/8 x 6 inches.
Condition: Near Fine. The image is clean and fresh. There is one spot of foxing on the blue surface of the sky. There are dark marks on the right hand side of the white surround. The paper upon which the image is printed is slightly creased and uneven in shape. This is usual for the period of its manufacture. There are two pieces of paper taped to the reverse of the page. These might have secured the engraving to a mount at some point.
