SCARCE 1849 Original D\'Orbigny Hand-Colored OPOSSUM Engraving: MAMMIFÈRES Pl. 17 For Sale

A beautiful engraving of two Marsupial species, rendered within detailed landscapes, from theMAMMIFÈRESsection ofCharles D\'Orbigny\'s epic Natural History Atlas volumes.

The drawing, detail work in the stipple-engraving, the coloring \'A La poupee\' (colored in the plate) & hand-finishing are superb. Every detail of these furry creatures, down to the hairs on their coats, even the expressions in their faces, the texture of their tails, are engraved with stunning skill, It\'s a scarce plate.

Generally one mostly finds plates from D\'Orbigny as reproductions these days, giclees & such, but the very limited supply of the original hand-colored engravings seem to have mostly disappeared from the market.

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 Excellent condition for a centuries-old engraving. The hand-coloring appears to remain sharp & brilliant as the day it was painted. Typical very slight age-toning & book-plate character for a print this old. This one appears to be 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:

• Didelphis is a genus of New World marsupials. The six species in the genus Didelphis, commonly known as Large American opossums, are members of the opossum order, Didelphimorphia. The genus Didelphis is composed of cat-sized omnivorous species, which can be recognized by their prehensile tails and their tendency to feign death when cornered. The largest species, the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), is the only marsupial to be found in North America north of Mexico. The Virginia opossum has opposable toes on their two back feet.

• Linnaeus\'s mouse opossum (Marmosa murina), also known as the common or murine mouse opossum, is a South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae. Its range includes Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and eastern Bolivia. This opossum is most commonly sighted near forest streams and human habitation. A nocturnal creature, it shelters during the day in a mesh of twigs on a tree branch, a tree hole, or an old bird\'s nest.

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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