Buffon - Oeuvres complètes par M. A. Richard - 1854

A splendid panorama of 19th-century wildlife – Buffon’s famous Natural History in a rare, richly illustrated Parisian complete edition

Publisher: Paris, Dufour, Mulat et Boulanger, 1854. Volumes 1 to 10 with 100 colored steel-engraved plates and an engraved portrait. Later cloth-bound volume, 28 x 19 cm, 8 kg.
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Extensive and impressively equipped complete edition of Buffon’s natural history works, one of the most influential naturalists of the Enlightenment. The richly illustrated volumes present the animal world in that characteristic blend of scientific observation, narrative elegance, and decorative book art that made Buffon’s works famous across Europe in the 18th century.

Particularly noteworthy are the numerous colored steel-engraved plates with depictions of exotic mammals, birds, and other animals. The finely executed illustrations show, among others, big cats, apes, owls, waterfowl, hummingbirds, and horses in moodily composed landscapes, lending the edition a highly representative character. The plates combine scientific precision with the aesthetic claim of French book illustration of the 19th century.

The edition edited by M. A. Richard also integrates insights from the comparative classification of Cuvier and other naturalists, thereby demonstrating the impressive transition from classical natural history to modern zoology. Consequently, the work possesses not only bibliophilic but also scientific and cultural-historical value.

Monumental natural history complete edition with splendid colored animal depictions – a decorative and yet scientifically significant work of 19th-century French book art.
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Occasionally with minor brown spotting, otherwise very clean and well-preserved lot.