Burl Prints

Antique American Federal covered box in burl walnut with three stripes of mahogany wood, the keyhole with mother-of-pearl inlay, abalone inlaid detail to lid. Dimensions: 3.5" H x 1...

Set of 6 hand-colored engravings by the naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788). They come from Leclerc's encyclopedic series Histoire Naturelle. As the accompanying text on the back of the frames states, these engravings are French in origin but were published in Amsterdam between 1766-1799. This particular set depicts a hippopotamus, a zebra, a monkey, an elephant mother and calf, a polar bear, and a panther. The engravings are framed beautifully in burlwood with UV protection glass and French matting...

Set of four country French Botanicals framed by Trowbridge in burlwood frames.

Set of 4 exceptional antique English botany prints, hand colored prints in Italian burl olive wood and gold leaf frames. Great wall decoration for the bedroom, bath or powder room. ...

Beautiful pink Mid-Century Modern Picasso print in a burl wood frame. (Not a lithograph) This piece would be wonderful for a gallery wall, or on its own....

A set of eight framed and matted original, hand-colored bird engravings on paper by French engraver Francois Nicolas Martinet from 1770-1786. Each engraving identifies in French the bird depicted, and is beautifully framed in burled walnut with linen mats and walnut filet. The birds shown are as follows: Poule de Bruyere Tinamou varie, de Cayenne Le Cassique rouge du Bresil Le Cassine, du cap de Bonne-Esperance Coulon-Chand de Cayenne La Caille "Attribution Martine" Pie-Grieche Fachetee de Cayenne Courly a col blanc, de Cayenne From the Comte de Buffon's superb work, Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux, published in Paris from 1770 to 1786, these lovely prints form part of a collection of 1008 fine, original hand-colored copper plate engravings. This work was the most famous & comprehensive ornithological work of the 18th century, for which Francois Nicolas Martinet, the foremost bird artist of his day, provided all the bird illustrations. Great Bird Books says of this book that it is "Certainly the most ambitious & comprehensive bird book, and ranks still as one of the most important of all bird books from the Collectors' point of view." George Louis Leclerc Buffon (1707-1788), of aristocratic French origins, was the preeminent scientist and mathematician of the late 18th century. He directed the Jardin des Plantes botanical garden in Paris, which still exists today. His most outstanding achievement came in the field of natural history with the publication of the monumental Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière (1749-1788) in 36 volumes, for which Martinet created all the bird illustrations which were also published separately in Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. The work was translated into many different languages, becoming a best seller of the day, and strong competition to the publications of such philosophers as Voltaire and Rousseau. Buffon's contributions to modern science are enormous. Charles Darwin wrote in the fourth edition of On the Origin of Species: "the first author who in modern times has treated it [evolution] in a scientific spirit was Buffon." In addition to introducing the concept of evolution to science, he laid the foundations for the development of comparative anatomy and introduced the concept of the earth's existence for much longer than the 6,000 years commonly held then. Francois Nicolas Martinet (1725-1804) was the French court engraver and artist. He illustrated many of the plays and operas by the luminaries of the day such as Voltaire, also drawing and engraved landscapes, portraits of notables and scenes of Versailles. He lived through one of the most tumultuous times in French history, witnessing the reigns of Louis XV, followed by the excesses of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette at Versailles. Towards the end of his life, he saw the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, followed by the ascent of Napoleon. His most enduring gift to the world is this beautiful work, popular now for almost a quarter of a millennium. The Martinet prints are the highlight of a beautiful modern volume entitled All The World's Birds, published by Rizzoli, showing all the prints with Buffon's descriptive text translated into English, plus a foreword by American ornithologist David Sibley...

19th century French print of an architectural facade with an eagle pediment between a pair of caryatid columns in a burl wood frame.