Bird of Prey: An 18th Century Hand-colored Bird Engraving by Martinet

This detailed and strikingly beautiful hand-colored copperplate engraving is printed on high quality laid chain-linked and watermarked paper with large margins. The sheet measures 12.5" high and 9.75" wide. There is a faint, barely perceptible thin area of discoloration in the left margin and mild irregularity of the left edge, where the engraving was originally bound in the 18th century publication. The engraved area is in excellent condition.

Francois Nicolas Martinet (1731-c1804) was a French naturalist, engineer and artist, particularly as a skilled engraver. He produced engravings for numerous publication on natural history. He is best known for his bird engravings. Martinet also illustrated many plays and operas by Voltaire and others, as well as creating landscapes and scenes of Versailles and portraits of royalty and aristocrats.

George Louis Leclerc Buffon (1707-1788) was a French aristocrat who became a very prominent and respected scientist and mathematician. He was the director of the Jardin des Plantes botanical garden in Paris. He published the 36 volume Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière (1749-1788) which included Martinet's bird illustrations. These engravings were later published on their own in Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux.

Buffon was an early promoter of the the theory of evolution, recognized by Charles Darwin who acknowledged that "the first author who in modern times has treated it (evolution) in a scientific spirit was Buffon.