13 VOLUMES ~ 1700s De BUFFON French HISTORIE NATURELLE

Buyer pays NOTHING for professional packing and insured shipping.(That is for U.S. only. Elsewhere in the known Universe - request quote.)

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These 13 volumes are from a natural history series of books Historie Naturelle Generale et Particuliere, NEW EDITION, written by Frenchman George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon.

The books totaled 36 (Buffon planned on 50) and were published in many languages. These are in original French. You can read all about the aristocrat/writer/naturalist/mathematician/cosmologist/etc if you Google. But you likely already know about him & his influence.

I love one particular quote from the writings of this man: “Genius is nothing but a greater aptitude for patience.”

Let’s get right to the heart of the matter here. These books are partial volumes. The books originally had lots of engraved plates of animals. Someone along the way removed many plates for his own purpose. There are plates that remain & lots of them, but still! Title pages of all volumes remain. Text may or may not be complete.

There seem to be an abundance of interesting scientific (well, everything's scientific here) engravings related to the embryonic development of various animals, but I might not want to hang them in the breakfast nook. Here’s a stomach; there’s the intestines of a hamster…I see horns, hearts & genitalia. Oh my—here’s a spleen I think. Without counting each & every illustration, I'm thinking there are at least 100 among all 13 books.

Aha! Elephants!

Here at 341, I have two "Prime Directives:"
First: I never, under any circumstances, use a reserve, and everything starts at $9, sometimes even less.
Second: I don't clean, repair, or otherwise monkey around with anything. I push enough dust aside to note any flaws, but if I discovered it in some dusty attic, you can look forward to a little dust on it when it gets to your house. If it has a flaw or a wart, I'll tell you about it.
So rest easy and have some fun. Why not place a little tiny bid right now so's you don't forget about it later.

In the lower right – Is that an early solar “fire starter?”

SIZE: Books are about 10” x 12”, with plates being somewhat smaller. The books have some pencil writing on inside front cover or ffep. Covers have various flaws…spine strips worn/corners bumped…expect lots of other flaws, such as foxing. One volume has two enormous labels glued on; others have top layer partially scraped off.

Buffon seems to be one of the first writers to create autonomous science—free of any theological rhetoric.

I’m not sure, but it looks to me as if a team of nekked little cherub babies is setting up a tennis match between the Badgers and the Weasels. I could be wrong.

Yes, I could have simply removed the remaining illustrations to sell. But I didn’t have the heart. Would you? Could you? I’ll leave that entirely in your hands—you decide.

Know one thing for sure: I absolutely guarantee you’ll be thrilled.

GOOD LUCK

Buyer pays NOTHING for professional packing and insured shipping.(That is for U.S. only. Elsewhere in the known Universe - request quote.)