Antique Print-BIRD-ARMED LAPWING-LOUISIANA-Martinet-Buffon-ca. 1770

This print shows a view on a bird called armed lapwing from Louisiana. It is depicted with a characteristic black cap and yellow face. The slender body shows brown upper wings, a white underside, and the typically long, yellow legs of wading birds. This species inhabits wetlands, marshes, and lake shores in southeastern North America, particularly in the coastal region of Louisiana. It feeds on aquatic animals such as insect larvae, snails, and small fish. The plate shows the name of the bird in French. Nr. 835.

Made by Francois-Nicolas Martinet after Buffon.

Medium: etching with original hand colouring on handlaid (verge) paper.

Sheet size: 22.7 x 32.3 cm (8.94 x 12.72 inch). Image size: 17.2 x 21.4 cm. (6.77 x 8.43 inch).

Condition: good, given age. Thin paper left margin. Remains of paper tape in upper margin. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. Please study scan carefully.

ANIMAL-BIRD-LAPWING-LOUISIANA-NORTH AMERICA | RBOS-A11-04

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

This attractive print was published in the ‘Natural History of Birds’ by Georges-Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon (1770-1783).

Reference: Sitwell p. 83, Nissen 158, Wood p. 262, Brunet p.1376, Ebert 313.

Biography engraver: Francois-Nicolas Martinet (1731-c.1800) was a prominent French engineer, engraver and naturalist. He worked closely with Count Georges-Louis Leclerc du Buffon on ‘Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux’. The work is considered one of the most influential bird books of all time.