Natural History

Description

On display are 5 volumes of Buffon's “Natural History” (1707-1788), an Italian translation of the monumental 36-volume “Histoire naturelle, générale et particuliére”, published in France over a period of forty years between 1749 and 1789 (after the French scientist's death, a further 8 volumes were added by Bernard Germain de Lacépède). Buffon's encyclopaedia of natural sciences has 15 volumes on quadrupeds, 9 on birds, 5 on minerals, 7 volumes of supplements including the “Epochs of Nature”, 8 on reptiles, fish and cetaceans (added posthumously) and is accompanied by magnificent engravings. The work pursued the goal of describing all of nature, with a particular interest in the life habits, habitat, instincts and morphology of each living organism. The present Milan edition is divided into 32 volumes.