ORNITHOLOGY MANUSCRIPT. - Album of original drawings of bird - Lot 86

ORNITHOLOGY MANUSCRIPT. - Album of original drawings of birds. S.l.n.d. [France, 17th century]. In-folio (43 x 27 cm), 102 leaves, turned calf, laces, handwritten title label (Modern pastiche binding). Spectacular album of around 290 original drawings executed in ink and color in the 17th century, mainly depicting birds of prey, field and river birds, as well as a few insects twirling around large bunches of flowers. The volume opens with a folio entitled Livre doseaux [sic] de rapine servens a la fauconnerie, dautres aussy vivens de rapine la nuict, dautres domestiques, aquatiques, champestres, passagers, sauterelles, papillons et damoiselles depeints apres le naturel les ayans tous veus vivens ou mors avec lexplication des nons [sic] des oseaux [sic] de la fauconnerie, avec en tête de grandes armoiries à la plume non identifiées (deux chevrons percés de haut en bas d'une flèche) ; the artist's name is given as Charles Guay or Guey. The initial title leaf of the manuscript, as well as leaves 83 and 84, are missing, according to the pagination. Some of the specimens are a little naïve and lack precise proportions, but the artist's workmanship and depiction of the various plumages give his drawings an undeniable charm. The drawings were produced on 100 leaves, double-sided, many of them large, full-page images, others arranged in twos or threes on the same page: in all, 285 drawings of birds, 2 drawings of bats, one drawing of a bird skeleton, and 4 plates of flower bouquets with butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, praying mantises and other insects. Some paper restoration. Reproduction on cover