BUFFON / CUVIERLivre Rare Book
Buffon's Natural History. Containing a Theory of the Earth a General History of Man of the Brute Creations and of Vegetables Minerals . From the French. With Notes by the Translator. In Ten Volumes. together with Natural History of Birds Fish Insects and Reptiles. In Six Volumes.
réf. 55894London: Printed for the Proprietor 1797-1808. 16 Volumes. 8vo actually a small 4to. the volumes measure just under 5 x 8 inches. 19th century tree-calf spines designed in gilt lettered in gilt on panels of black. A few slightly cracked hinges and modest shelf wear a very nice clean set. This is a uniform binding of two separate sets; the first set of ten volumes has the legend "Barr's Buffon" at the head of the title page. The second set of six volumes is issued anonymously. In all 136 plates most coloured by hand. Internally very fresh almost no foxing to be seen. Typically the plates are not in the exact order given in the individual volumes. In this case the final supplement volume contains several plates which are listed in earlier volumes but not present there. One plate from Volume 11 a Parrot appears never to have been bound-in. In all a clean and attractive set of Buffon quite handsome. London: Printed for the Proprietor, 1797-1808. unknown
