M. Thomas Smith - Le cabinet du jeune naturaliste ou tableaux intéressants de l'histoire des animaux. - 1810

Mooie set met 5(van 6, deel 1 mist) delen uit de serie. Compleet met de 5 verschillende titelvignetten en de 44 gegraveerde platen. In contemporain halfleren banden met titelschildje. Zeer fraai geillustreerd, zie vele foto's.

Conditie: Wat lichte slijtage banden en binnenwerken wat roestvlekjes maar over algemeen zeer goed.

Wordt aangetekend verstuurd.

The first French edition of Thomas Smith's delightful natural history for young people. Gumuchian reports that this original edition was such a success that successive editions appeared in the years that followed. This production stands apart from other juvenile natural history primers for the fineness of its engravings, which are of exceptional quality. Some four hundred and thirty species of fish, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds are described, providing a fascinating cross-section of the contemporary interest in zoos and menageries, with many of the animals shown in less than natural settings. Despite this, there are an impressive number of what would have been the very newest exotic animals to arrive in France, including an Indian elephant, and the notes are more than mere newspaper reportage, showing that Smith was well versed in the literature on the subject. In this vein, the description of 'le kanguro' is interesting because it records and describes a number of live specimens in Europe, including those at the royal gardens at Richmond, 'un couple de très beaux kanguros' at an exposition at Exeter-Change of 1806.
5 diff. engr. titles, 44 plates, contemp. unif. gilt hcalf w. mor. letter- and vol. piece. fine copy.