Le regne animal divisé en IX classes.
first edition Full Calf
1756 · Paris
by BRISSON, Mathurin Jacques (1723-1806).
Paris: Bauche, 1756. First Edition. Full Calf. Near Fine. 4to. 382 pp. Collates complete. Parallel text in French and Latin. Full contemporary French calf, spine heavily gilt. A nice copy. "Buffon had attempted in his Histoire naturelle to give a general description of the animal world based upon the collections in the Cabinet du Roi, and Réaumur desired to launch a similar enterprise in extending the six volumes of his Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire des insectes by using the innumerable observations he had made or gathered from his correspondents, as well as the numerous specimens in his collection. Brisson was to play the principal role in this project. [He] published the Regne animal (1756), a bilingual work with Latin and French texts printed side by side. In it he announced the project, presented the classification, and dealt with the study of the first two classes: quadrupeds and cetaceans" (D.S.B. 2: 474). (Inventory #: LD15297)