[Manuscript. Engraving]. [Ornithology]. Le livre de la natur - Lot 13

[Manuscript. Engraving]. [Ornithology]. Le livre de la nature ou receuil de figures choisies et enluminées... begun January 19, 1791. In-folio, modest contemporary cardboard binding: sewn quires, cardboard boards without covers (stitching distended, f. and plates flying, traces of glue and defects of use). Curious and touching manuscript certainly composed by a young scripter fond of natural history, and particularly that of birds. It consists of 14 unencumbered leaves (including the title), and plates with 72 colored engravings of birds (65 laminated and 7 loose). The handwriting is clumsy, the composition sloppy and inconsistent, and the text pages contain disparate and lapidary information, but which links this document to the Alençon region: it mentions two natural history enthusiasts living in Alençon, the Perseigne forest, and the natural history cabinet at Château de Montigny. The engraved plates have been cut around the subject, sometimes sparing the draftsman's signature; the name Martinet is often noted, a draftsman who produced numerous representations of birds to illustrate Buffon's Histoire naturelle.