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Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Abolboda; Elodea (Waterweeds); Lepidosperma (Hoary Rapier-Sedge) /// Botanical

1749-1789

About the Item

Artist: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (French, 1707-1788) Title: "Abolboda; Elodea (Waterweeds); Lepidosperma (Hoary Rapier-Sedge)" (Triandrie Monogynie, Plate 905) Portfolio: Histoire Naturelle Year: 1749-1789 Medium: Original Hand-Colored Engraving on laid paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: Imprimerie Nationale, Paris, France Publisher: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, Paris, France Framing: Not framed, but beautifully double matted with hand decorated archival French matting Matted size: 18.13" x 15.13" Image size: 8.88" x 6.25" Condition: Some scattered foxmarks associated with age. In otherwise good condition Rare Notes: Engraved by French artist Jean Louis Marie Poiret (1755-1834). Comes from Buffon's famous publication "Histoire Naturelle", 1749-1789, an encyclopedic collection of 36 large (quarto) volumes of Natural History. Abolboda is a genus of flowering plants, traditionally and nowadays (Kubitzki system and APG IV) assigned to family Xyridaceae. It is native to South America and to the island of Trinidad, generally on marshy savanna. Elodea is a genus of 6 species of aquatic plants often called the waterweeds described as a genus in 1803. Classified in the frog’s-bit family, Elodea is native to the Americas and is also widely used as aquarium vegetation and laboratory demonstrations of cellular activities. It lives in fresh water. Lepidosperma is a genus of flowering plant of the family Cyperaceae. Most of the species are endemic to Australia, with others native to southern China, southeast Asia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and New Zealand. Biography: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (French: 7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopédiste. His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including two prominent French scientists Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier. Buffon published thirty-six quarto volumes of his "Histoire Naturelle" during his lifetime, with additional volumes based on his notes and further research being published in the two decades following his death. Ernst Mayr wrote that "Truly, Buffon was the father of all thought in natural history in the second half of the 18th century". Buffon held the position of intendant (director) at the Jardin du Roi, now called the Jardin des Plantes.
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