A hand coloured antique print entitled Le Merle au Plastron Blanc.
From ‘Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux’ by George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon.
Published by L’Imprimerie Royale, Paris between 1770 and 1786.
Engraved by Haussard.
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.
The Merle au Plastron Blanc translates as Ring Ouzel. This member of the thrush family lives high in the mountains of Europe. In the winter it heads for Turkey or North Africa where it feeds on juniper berries.
Size: 27 x 19.3 cms or 10 1/2 x 7 3/4 inches.
Size of coloured part of engraving: 19.8 x 15.3 cms or 7 3/4 x 6 inches.
Condition: Near Fine. The coloured part of the plate is fresh and clean. The white surround has browned at the edges, is very lightly foxed and spotted with black. The paper upon which the engraving is printed is slightly creased and uneven in shape . This was usual for the period of manufacture. There are two pieces of paper attached to the reverse side. These were probably once used to affix the print to a mount.
