2-704-378 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'La Souris', c1763. The mouse, and below its skeleton. The "Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roi", (Natural History, General and Particular, with a Description of the King's Cabinet) was written 1749-1804 by the Comte de Buffon, and was continued after his death. It was a monumental work in multiple volumes, and covered what was known of the 'natural sciences' at the time, including physics, chemistry and technology as well as the natural history of animals.