Buffon "The Turkey Cock and Hen"

After Buffon. "The Turkey Cock and Hen."

Probably London: 18th century.  6 1/4 x 4 1/8. Copper engraving. Very good condition.

From an English edition of Buffon's Natural History, delightful animal prints from the work of one of the most important naturalists of all time.  The Comte de Buffon (1707-88), was an amazingly talented man, whose studies ranged through mathematics, astronomy, and all the sciences.  His theories, including his argument that New World species were inferior, were often controversial.  His name was legendary in this vital period of natural history: he was to France what Linnaeus was to Sweden.  The memorable images in this series were part of a prodigious undertaking, in which the Count (who was then keeper of the Jardin du Roi, precursor of the Paris Zoo) set out to describe the whole animal kingdom.  Buffon’s Histoire Naturelle was issued in many editions and languages.