Historie Naturelle Shell Prints
Casque. Cassis Plate 407
Tonne Dolium Plate 403
Historie Naturelle; Coquilles Univalves
Hist. Nat; Coquilles Univalves
Desene. Delet Dt
They each measure: 14” X 18”
My wife and I bought these two shell prints from an antique art dealer in the Brownstones of Boston over 30 years ago. We were impressed with the clean crisp nature of the engravings and the subtle hand coloring of each print. When we found out more about the history of Histoire Naturelle we were even more impressed and immediately recognized the value of these two prints… besides the fact that they were attractive and would look nice in our home.
The framing and matting fits them perfectly and they are in MINT CONDITION.
What does Histoire Naturelle mean and why is it important ?
The Musée national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN) is the National Museum of Natural History in France. World famous as the leading authority of Botanical and Natural History Science which includes precious drawings, etchings and other scientific study and findings of the earth.
Detailed History:
Lamarck Shells Tableau Encyclopedique et Methodique des Trois Regnes de la Nature
1782-1832
_Cassidaire
This encyclopedic work spanning over 50 years and running to 201 volumes was the undertaking of an enterprising young publisher Charles-Joseph Panckoucke (1736-98), who got his start in the publishing world of the day by collaborating on the Encyclopedie of Diderot & d’Alembert. This latter work was to become a definitive record of the history of European thought and a remarkable reference for all aspects of eighteenth-century European civilization. From the onset, it was controversial, banned by the government & condemned by the Pope, causing it to become enormously popular.
These two prints came from two volumes relating to Shells, Sea Urchins, and a variety of sea creatures. These volumes were published between 1791-1798, and were edited by Lamarck & Bruguiere. The backdrop of the publication was the French Revolution, when, in 1793 Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette went to the guillotine. It was a time of great transformation in France & the reorganization in a democratic manner of many of the establishments previously dependent on the whims of royal patronage. The old Jardin des Plantes became the Musée National d’Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History), run by twelve professors in twelve different scientific fields, one of whom was Lamarck.
Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck, born in 1744 to a military family, attended a Jesuit seminary for a short period before becoming a soldier, retiring with a distinguished battle record. Lamarck began to study medicine and botany; in 1778 his book on the plants of France, Flore Française, was published to great acclaim, in part due to the support of Buffon.
Buffon secured him a post as an underpaid assistant at the Jardin des Plantes, from which position he was able to propose the transformation of the Jardin des Plantes into the Natural History Museum was established. In the grandiose manner of the day, he was appointed to the study of “invertebrates” a word which he coined & a subject about which he knew little at the onset. He also coined the word “biology”.
The invertebrate collections at the Musée were enormous and rapidly growing, but poorly organized and classified. The professorship of “insects and worms” was definitely the least prestigious. But Lamarck rose to the challenge of creating a new field of biology, publishing many works & writings throughout his long career. While the ideas involved were not Lamarck’s own, he has come to personify pre-Darwinian ideas on evolution. Lamarckian evolution is now a discredited theory, but he was among the early scientist to entertain such theories & Darwin recognizes him in the Evolution of the Species.
His work was never popular during his lifetime. Lamarck did not enjoy the respect or prestige enjoyed by his patron Buffon or his colleague & rival Cuvier, who attempted to discredit his theories. Lamarck struggled with life long poverty & lack of recognition for his contributions to science. When he died, on December 28, 1829, he received a pauper’s funeral, buried in a grave for five years & then dug up, probably to be placed among the huge quantities of bones stored in the catacombs of Paris.
These two prints have undoubtedly been touched by those who participated in the French Revolution. Each original antique print is folio size, measuring approximately 9 inches by 12 inches, on strong, soft white chain lined paper. These have been beautifully hand colored in England by one of the few remaining professional colorists whose specialty is fish & shells. |
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