SCARCE 1849 Original D\'Orbigny Hand-Colored SNAKE Engraving: REPTILES Pl. 10 For Sale

A beautiful engraving of two snake species, rendered within detailed landscapes, from theREPTILESsection 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 scale of these snakes, their patterning, even their faces, are engraved with stunning skill, their texture & shininess... 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 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:

• The buff striped keelback (Amphiesma stolatum) is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake found across Asia. It is a typically nonaggressive snake that feeds on frogs and toads. It belongs to the subfamily Natricinae, and is closely related to water snakes and grass snakes. It resembles an Asian version of the American garter snake. It is quite a common snake but is rarely seen.
• Oxybelis fulgidus, commonly known as the green vine snake or the flatbread snake. Common names used in South America for this species include bejuca lora, bejuquilla verde, cobra-cipó, and cobra-bicuda. It is found in Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

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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