Lot 24
  • 24

Buffon, Georges Louis Marie Leclerc

Estimate
75,000 - 100,000 GBP
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Description

  • Histoire naturelle des oiseaux. Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1770-1786
  • PAPER
FIRST EDITION, LARGE PAPER ISSUE, 10 volumes bound in 15, folio (477 x 235mm.), text within decorative borders, 973 fine hand-coloured engraved plates, drawn and engraved by Franz Nicolaus Martinet under the supervision of Edme Daubenton, contemporary green morocco gilt, gilt edges, without the 35 plates of insects as often, occasional dampstaining, mostly marginal, more pronounced in vol.15 (this a text volume), some minor wear and repair to spines

Literature

Anker 76-77; Fine Bird Books, p.63; Nissen IVB 158; Wood, p.267; Zimmer, pp.104-106

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

A LARGE-PAPER COPY OF BUFFON'S MASTERPIECE, AND A CORNERSTONE OF ORNITHOLOGICAL LITERATURE, BOUND IN CONTEMPORARY GREEN MOROCCO.

The plates, by Daubenton, were originally intended to illustrate the ornithological section of Buffon’s massive Histoire naturelle générale, but this idea was abandoned owing to the limited number of impressions, and instead Buffon prepared the present special ten-volume edition of the ornithology to accompany the splendid coloured plates (here unusually bound in 15 volumes). The work was issued in four formats, the present copy being the most sumptuous: "Grand in-folio avec les planches enluminées, en grand papier".