Traviès, E.
La vénerie. Souvenir de chasses. La perdrix rouge. [Plate 13].
Paris, Berrieux, [1854]. Large Folio (64.1 x 50.0 cm). Single sheet with finely engraved and originally hand-coloured illustration.
A fine, accurate, detailed, trompe-l'oeil plate showing game fowl, and in particular a red-legged partridge ( Alectoris rufa Linnaeus), which was widely shot and eaten in 19th-century France. "This partridge breeds naturally in southwestern Europe (France, Iberia and northwest Italy). It has become naturalised in flat areas of England and Wales, where it was introduced as a game species, and has been seen breeding as far north as Aberdeenshire. It is replaced in south-eastern Europe by the very similar rock partridge ( Alectoris graeca). It is a non-migratory terrestrial species, which forms flocks outside the breeding season. This species breeds on dry lowlands, such as farmland and open stony areas, laying its eggs in a ground nest" (Wikipedia). Édouard Traviès de Villers (1809-1876) was one the best natural history illustrators of his time. He worked for George Cuvier, Alcide d'Orbigny and other zoologists, and published several ornithological works himself. Edges a bit spotted and creased, minimal spotting to the printed surface, and in all a very good copy. Ronsil, 2953 (p. 475).