The Volumes: Dictionnaire Universel d'Histoire Naturelle (Dictionary of Natural History) was edited by the French naturalist Charles Henry Dessalines d'Orbigny (1802-1857). Regarded as one of the best illustrated encyclopedias of natural history, the Atlas volumes featured exquisitely detailed and scientifically accurate illustrations that appeal to both the academic and artistic eye. Other topics in the series included mammals, birds, insects, fish, etc. published by Renard & Martinet of Paris. The superb, beautifully hand colored plates are from the leading French artists of the day such as Susemihl, Traviès, Oudart and Pretre. The order, genus & species is on each print in Latin & French.

Every part of these prints was made by hand: Hand drawn & engraved on Copper which was hand-mined, smelted & rolled, printed onto handmade cotton rag paper, inked & colored with hand-ground pigments individually by hand, & they were usually hand sewn into handmade leather-bound books.

Condition: Appears to be in good condition for a centuries-old engraving. The hand-coloring appears to remain sharp & brilliant as the day it was painted. Typical age-toning & book-plate character for a print this old. This one appears a bit more age-toned than some, otherwise a remarkably clean print.

These prints are very old & may have minor imperfections expected with age, such as some typical age-toning of the paper, oxidation of the old original watercolors, spots, text-offsetting, artifacts from having been bound into a book & handled for generations, etc. Please examine the photos & details carefully.

Text Page(s): This one comes without original text page(s) as those were bound separately. I've added a scan of a sample cover page from one of the volumes to the listing photos for reference, it's not part of the listing.

About these beautiful serpents:

• Crotalus durissus, known as the South American rattlesnake,[2] tropical rattlesnake,[4] and by other names, is a highly venomous pit viper species found in South America.  Common names for the species include: South American rattlesnake, tropical rattler, tropical rattlesnake, neotropical rattlesnake, Guiana rattlesnake (previously used for C. d. dryinus), and in Spanish: víbora de cascabel, cascabel, cascabela, and also in Portuguese, cascavel. In Suriname it is known as Sakasneki.
• Cerastes cerastes, commonly known as the Saharan horned viper or the desert horned viper, is a venomous species of viper native to the deserts of Northern Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula and Levant. It is often easily recognized by the presence of a pair of supraocular "horns". Common names of this species include desert sidewinding horned viper, Saharan horned viper, horned s, Sahara horned viper, desert horned viper, North African horned viper, African desert horned viper, greater cerastes, asp and horned viper. In Egypt, it is called el-ṭorîsha (حية الطريشة); in Libya, it is called um-Goron (ام قرون).

Size: 6" x 9-1/2" inches approximately.

Shipping: Multiple prints combine into one USPS Flat-Rate envelope. If you'd like to combine & need more time to choose, please send a message & we'll do our best to oblige. If you're assessed multiple shipping for one combined package, we'll endeavor to refund any overage asap.

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