Buffon's animal parade

The large set of natural history books: Histoire naturelle générale et particulière avec la description du cabinet du Roi was created by the wealthy French aristocrat and polyhistor George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon (1707-88). On the basis of the Naturalist Cabinet of the King of France and the Zoological Garden in Jardin du Roi it was his ambition to present all sorts of animals in text and illustrations. This is culture-historically interesting and typical of the understanding of the surrounding world and of the self-understanding of his time, and especially of his aristocratic self. It is a very style-minded - baroque and extraordinary - illustrated work. The animals are presented as models - in postures - on pedestals - staged in an elegant and cultivated manner.  The work was a great success in its time - issued in several editions and in several languages. 

The Library's edition is a French original with a supplementary volume from 1750-1779.