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Pierre Belon:
«L'Histoire de la Nature des Oyseaux»

Pierre Belon’s «Histoire de la nature des oyseaux» represents a significant development from a methodological point of view in comparison with the third volume of Geßner’s «Historia animalum», which also appeared in 1555. Belon does not list alphabetically but arranges the birds in related groups and gives detailed anatomical descriptions. Above all, as Belon emphasises, all the birds are depicted by the artist as they appear in nature.

Published 1555 in Paris with the full title; «L’Histoire de la Nature des Oyseaux, avec leurs descriptions & naifs pourtraicts retirez du naturel.»
381 pages in format 2° with 163 hand coloured wood cuts.

This copy originated from the Munich University Library.