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 Thomas Rousselet.
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.
L’Orfraie ou Aigle de Mer translates as Osprey or Sea Eagle.
Size: 27 x 20.5 cms or 10 1/2 x 18 1/4 inches.
Size of coloured part of image: 19.4 x 15 cms or 7 1/2 x 6 inches.
Condition: Near Fine. The coloured part of the sheet is very clean and fresh. The are are some dark marks on the white surround. The hand-made paper upon which the image is printed is uneven in shape. This was usual at the time of manufacture. There are two pieces of paper stuck to the reverse side. I imagine these were once used to affix the engraving to a mount.
