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The complete supplement volumes to Buffon's seminal work, including his new theory on the earth

BUFFON, Georges Louis Leclerc.
Histoire naturelle, générale et particuliére . . . Supplément [Tome premier - septième].
Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1774-1782 (vols. 1-6); Dordrecht, A. Blussé and son, 1799 (vol. 7). 7 volumes. 4to. With 2 folding engraved maps and 218 plates (full-page and folding and including 2 bis), all engraved. Contemporary mottled calf, gold-tooled spine and board edges (vols. 1-6, uniform), 19th-century half calf, gold-tooled spine (vol. 7).
€ 2,250
The complete supplements to Buffon's famous Histoire naturelle, with the first 6 volumes in the first edition and the last volume in the new edition published in Amsterdam and Dordrecht, the only quarto edition to rival the original French Imprimerie Royale edition.
Supplements I, II and V contain additions and corrections to Buffon's essay "Théorie de la terre" in which he,'' He extrapolated the results of his experiments, . . . , in order to calculate the time required for the cooling of the earth and other planets'' (DSB). Additionally, he provides introductions to the history of mineral resources and vegetation in the first and second supplement volumes respectively . The Époques de la nature (Supplément V), presents a plutonian history of the earth. "This work is of considerable interest because it offers a history of nature, combining geology with biology, and particularly because of Buffon's attempt to establish a universal chronology'' (DSB). It also contains a great deal of mineralogical material he elaborated on in his Histoire naturelle des mineraux. Other volumes contain additions to the quadrupeds and human species section
The bindings show some scratches and minor wear but are structurally sound, volume 5 with a few water stains in blank corners and on the polar region map. The complete Suppléments to Buffon's masterpiece in very good condition. Bertin et al., Buffon (Paris, 1952), especially p. 235; DSB II, pp. 576-581; Nissen, ZBI 672, 678; PMM 198.
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Natural history  >  Mammals | Zoology (General incl. Faunas)
Science & technology  >  Earth Sciences | Mineralogy & Gems | Science