Barraband, J. [in F. Levaillant]
Femelle de la pie de paradis.
Paris, Denné le jeune, 1806. Large folio (54.5 x 36.5 cm). Single plate, printed in colour, augmented by hand. In passepartout (70 x 50 cm).
A seldom-seen illustration of a female bird of paradise by the famous French zoological and botanical illustrator Jacques Barraband (1767-1809). "His illustrations were considered the most accurate ones made during the early 1800s" (Wikipedia). This plate was published in François Levaillant's famous work on birds of paradise, Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis et des rolliers (1806). Some scattered foxing, otherwise very good. Anker, 304; Nissen ICB, 559; Sitwell, Fine Bird Books, p. 118; Zimmer, p. 393.