Buffon | Histoire naturelle des oiseaux, Paris, 1771-1786, 10 volumes, contemporary calf

Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon

Histoire naturelle des oiseaux. Paris: Imprimerie royale (volumes 6-10: suivant la copie de l'Imprimerie royale), 1771-1786

10 volumes, large folio (459 x 328mm.), large paper, text within woodcut borders, 972 (of 973) hand-coloured engraved plates by Martinet, a few printed in red or yellow, contemporary calf gilt with painted decoration, spines gilt in compartments, green morocco lettering-pieces, gilt edges, lacking plate number 829 in volume 5, a few small marginal stains on the plates of parakeets in volume 7 (between pp. 122-123), colour from plate offset onto p. 220 of volume 8, joints cracking, spines chipped, some repairs to board edges

A FINE LARGE COPY OF BUFFON'S MAGISTERIAL SURVEY OF BIRDS, which did much to broaden contemporary interest in natural history; its popularity meant that there were numerous editions published in various formats.

The attractive plates were engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet (1731-1800) and hand-coloured under the instruction of Edmée-Louis Daubenton. They were issued in parts without text, from 1765 to around 1780, which accounts for the seemingly random plate numbering in this edition. Buffon then adapted the text on birds from his encyclopaedic Histoire naturelle to accompany Martinet's plates, issued in large and small folio; much of the text was the work of Montbeillard and Bexon, though edited by Buffon. The second half of volume ten is taken up with extensive indices of subjects and of birds' names in different languages.

According to Anker, there was a folio edition published 1770-1786 (his no.76), and then another folio edition in 1771-1783 (his no.77), which had the text and plates bound separately, but with only 6 volumes of text (Nissen also describes these two editions within his no.158, the former as folio and the latter as large folio). The present copy has the first title-page dated 1771 but has the plates bound within the text at the relevant places.

The series of Martinet and Daubenton's plates which was published separately also contained 35 plates which were not of birds, and which were not generally included in the text editions.

LITERATURE:

Anker 76 and 77; Nissen IVB 158; Zimmer 104-106; cf. Fine Bird Books p. 63 (with 1770 imprint in volume 1)

PROVENANCE:

Armorial bookplate (of Carleton family?)