EGYPT FISH DESCRIPTION DE L'EXPEDITION ELEPHANT FOLIO 1819

POISSONS DU NIL PLATE 23

£120

Superb and very rare large plate from the 'Histoire Naturelle' section from the 'Description de l'Égypte, ou Recueil des observations et des recherches, qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'Armée Française',(Paris: C.L.F.Panckoucke, 1820-1829).

The principal artists and engravers for this section were Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Jules-Cesar Savigny, Audouin and Bouquet.

This elephant folio plate is one of the best plates from the Fish section.

Excellent hand colour

.Very good condition.

Original full-sheet etching, untrimmed, from the so-called "Imperial" edition of the *Description de l'Égypte* (Description of Egypt)—or *Collection of observations and research conducted in Egypt during the French expedition*—published by order of His Majesty Emperor Napoleon the Great.

Produced between February 1802 and 1829 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte and published starting in 1809 [actually 1810], the work had a print run of 1,000 copies on laid paper watermarked "Égypte ancienne et moderne" and was presented to institutions.

A plate from the Fish series, the study for which was conducted by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772–1844), a French naturalist who took part in the Egyptian campaign and gathered numerous observations—particularly on mammals, reptiles, and fish—during that time.

Minute, marginal foxing that does not affect the engraving itself; a small wormhole in the upper margin; a small, repaired tear on the left edge; otherwise in an excellent state of preservation and freshness.