Fish, Snakes and Whales -- in 187 Plates
Œuvres ... Nouvelle Édition, dirigée par M.A.G. Desmarest.
Paris: Chez Ladrange et Verdière, 1826-1833.
Price: $4,000.00
About the item
Engraved frontispiece portrait by Roger after the painting by Hersent, and 187 lithographed plates of fish, whales, serpents, etc., from drawings bu Oudart, and 2 large folding tables. 11 vols. 8vo. Fish, Snakes and Whales -- in 187 Plates. Contemporary quarter brown morocco and patterned paper boards, gilt-lettered spines, raised bands, marbled edges and endpapers. Occasional faint dampstaining to outer margins in vols. 5 & 6, some light scattered foxing, but overall a very handsome and impressive set. Mill/9/3.
Item #217270
Superb edition, handsomely presented, of the works of the great French naturalist and succesor to Buffon, collecting his massive HISTOIRE NATURELLE DES POISSONS; ... DES QUADRUPEDES OVIPARES; ... DES SERPENTS; and DES CÉTACÉES. In addition, the set collects Lacépède's lectures, including the often omittted lectures "Discours sur la durée des espèces", and "Troisième vue de la nature". See DSB VII, pp. 546-548.
Complete, as issued, with all the lithographed plates (occasionally found bound separately), the set comprises:
Vol. I. Discours. portrait + 627 p + 1 folding table.
Vol. 2. Histoire naturelle des Cétacés. 412 pp. + 20 plates
Vol. 3 Histoire naturelle des quadrupèdes ovipares. 624 pp + 24 plates
Vol. 4 Histoire naturelle des serpents. 557 pp. + 23 plates
Vol. 5 - 11. Histoire naturelle des poissons. 5: 501 pp + 27 plates; 6: 596 pp. + 24 plates; 7: 510 + 13 plates; 8: 512 pp. + 23 plates; 9: 497 pp. + 15 plates; 10: 459 pp + 7 plates; 11: 544 pp. + 11 plates and folding table.
