Histoire naturelle des perroquets.

First edition in the preferred folio format of this celebrated work. It stands in the front rank of ornithological books. The very fine colour plates are by the great bird artist, Jacques Barraband.

François Le Vaillant (1753-1824), son of the French consul in Suriname, is one of the major figures in the history of ornithology. Until overtaken by John Gould later in the nineteenth century, he was the most prolific producer of comprehensive bird books, and in sheer quality he was eclipsed only by Audubon. He belongs to the new breed of naturalist who attained prominence towards the end of the 18th century, studying and recording their subjects in their natural habitat. Le Vaillaint's illustrator, Jacques Barraband (1767-1809), is considered to be the greatest ornithological artist of his time. He had a varied career, working for both the Gobelin tapestry works and the Sevres porcelain factory, and was also responsible for the dining-room at the palace of Saint-Cloud. 'After he had made himself Emperor, it was part of Napoleon's deliberate policy to initiate a series of magnificent publications that would vie with those undertaken to the orders of Louis XIV. These were sent as presents to crowned heads, men of science, and learned bodies, in evidence of the splendours of the Empire. The works of Levaillant owe their sumptuous character to. [this] impetus. His Histoire naturelle des perroquets is, unwittingly, a part of the glories of Napoleonic France' (Fine Bird Books).