8 Volume Partial Set of Works by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (Quadrupeds, Mineralogy, General Theory)
8 Volume Partial Set of Works by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (Quadrupeds, Mineralogy, General Theory)
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Set of 8 Antique Books (Partial Set)
Collection of 8 volumes of Works by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1789)
Printer: D L'Imprimerie Royale (official royal press of France) - denotes these were printed under royal patronage before 1789 with Buffon still serving as Intendant du Jardin du Roi; royal emblem on each title page (crown with fleurs de lis and scientific instruments signifies state-sponsored science - science as service to the monarchy) - makes this edition/collection much more collectible
Contemporary mottled calf leather, richly gilt floral spines, morocco title and tome labels, sprinkled edges
Pre-Revolutionary royal press editions (Louis XVI period)
Sub-set of Buffon's monumental Histoire Naturelle, including five volumes on Quadrupeds, one on Mineralogy,a nd two on Buffon's general theory of the Earth
Illustrated with copperplate engravings by Jacques de Seve
Beautifully preserved example of Enlightenment natural history from the royal press, bridging zoology, geology, and philosophy
Buffon was on eo fthe Enlightenment's leading naturalists
Histoire Naturelle attempted to catalogue all known natural life, influencing Darwin a century later
Chronological inconsistency - issued non-linearly
Buffon's works were not published in strict numerical order; they were issued in thematic batches, ofen as volumes were completed by engravers and editors
Tome numbers assigned retroactively to maintain scientific order, not printing order
Around 1774, Imprimerie Royale began printing Buffon's revised Complete Works, drawing on earlier quarto plates
Some later numbered tomes (like IV or VI) were ready for press first, because they contained revised text already set from earlier work (or less engravings)
Tome I was delayed until illustrations and zoological sections were finished and engraved (1775)
1774-1776: Early "Core theory" and first mammal series
1783-1789: Later expansions
UNIFORMLY BOUND
Set of 8 Antique Books (Partial Set)
Collection of 8 volumes of Works by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1789)
Printer: D L'Imprimerie Royale (official royal press of France) - denotes these were printed under royal patronage before 1789 with Buffon still serving as Intendant du Jardin du Roi; royal emblem on each title page (crown with fleurs de lis and scientific instruments signifies state-sponsored science - science as service to the monarchy) - makes this edition/collection much more collectible
Contemporary mottled calf leather, richly gilt floral spines, morocco title and tome labels, sprinkled edges
Pre-Revolutionary royal press editions (Louis XVI period)
Sub-set of Buffon's monumental Histoire Naturelle, including five volumes on Quadrupeds, one on Mineralogy,a nd two on Buffon's general theory of the Earth
Illustrated with copperplate engravings by Jacques de Seve
Beautifully preserved example of Enlightenment natural history from the royal press, bridging zoology, geology, and philosophy
Buffon was on eo fthe Enlightenment's leading naturalists
Histoire Naturelle attempted to catalogue all known natural life, influencing Darwin a century later
Chronological inconsistency - issued non-linearly
Buffon's works were not published in strict numerical order; they were issued in thematic batches, ofen as volumes were completed by engravers and editors
Tome numbers assigned retroactively to maintain scientific order, not printing order
Around 1774, Imprimerie Royale began printing Buffon's revised Complete Works, drawing on earlier quarto plates
Some later numbered tomes (like IV or VI) were ready for press first, because they contained revised text already set from earlier work (or less engravings)
Tome I was delayed until illustrations and zoological sections were finished and engraved (1775)
1774-1776: Early "Core theory" and first mammal series
1783-1789: Later expansions
UNIFORMLY BOUND