Paris, Librairie Centrale des Beaux Arts E. Lévy, 1897. Folio (45.9 x 34.2 cm). 58 [of 60] chromolithographed plates. Later plain portfolio with cloth boards.

One of the largest and most beautifully illustrated works on animals and their application in the arts. Edited by the Swiss Art Nouveau artist Eugène Grasset (1841-1917), with all plates by the famous French illustrators Maurice Pillard Verneuil (1869-1942), who published many works under his own name. The animals are illustrated after nature, with a clear Art Nouveau touch, followed by stylized illustrations of the same, on one or two subsequent plate(s). Lacks plates 14 and 21. Sheet margins a bit soiled; several with short tears or creases; a few plates evenly toned; plate 3 with a larger tear, into the printed area. Cloth board with label of the Parisian firm, A. Zoller Ed. Simonnet & Fils Succ., located at 11, Rue Poissonnière. Evers, Ornamentale Vorlagenwerke, 2161; Schneider-Henn, Ornament und Dekoration, under 276 (not described).