Antique Maps, Prints, & Books of Natural History, Botanicals, & More
Lot 63153:
Description
This is the complete section of insects in two volumes with 202 hand-colored engravings from Georges Cuvier’s
Le Regne Animal Distribue d’apres son Organisation or
The Animal Kingdom, Distributed According to Its Organization. The prints from this work feature beautiful original hand-coloring. The work was published in Paris by Fortin and Masson between 1817-1849. It is the "first truly complete work in the history of comparative anatomy." The volumes are bound in contemporary half-calkf, spine and top of edge gilt, with gilt fillets.
Georges Cuvier was a French naturalist and zoologist and established the sciences of comparative anatomy and paleontology. He is credited with proving that extinction occurred. His name is one of the 72 featured on the Eiffel Tower of French scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. "[Cuvier’s} vast communication network, huge world-wide collections, and extensive ichthyological library, made Paris the center of ichthyology and Cuvier the foremost ichthyologist in the world" (T.W. Pietsch in ‘Archives of Nat. Hist, 12, 1’)
Cuvier’s
Animal Kingdom was “the most influential exposition of the typological approach to animal classification, representing the greatest body of zoological facts that had yet been assembled; it served as the standard zoological manual for most of Europe during the first half of the nineteenth century.” (Norman 567)
Paper Size ~ 6 3/4" by 10 1/2"
Condition report:
The work is in very good to excellent condition overall. There may be a few minor marks or imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.
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