Instruction pour les bergers et pour les proprietaires de troupeaux
Paris: De L’Imprimerie de Ph.-D. Pierres, 1782. 8vo. xvi, 414, [2] pp. FIRST EDITION. With 22 full-page engraved plates, woodcut head- and tailpieces. Contemporary calf, spine elaborate gilt with label, marbled endpapers; an excellent copy. Item #19025
First edition; everything you need to know about sheep. For the shepherd or flock owner, Daubenton treats anatomy and the various activities relating to their breeding, such as shearing and sheep care, all with detailed illustrations. This work, containing the most up-to-date information, was so successful that it was translated into German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. In 1820 the fifteenth edition was still being printed. Of particular interest is his comparison between French and foreign wools.
Daubenton (1716-1799), physician and naturalist, was one of Buffon’s main collaborators in compiling his Natural history, with the task of dealing with the anatomical descriptions of quadrupeds. In his native town, Montbard, in the Côte d’Or, he set up a model “farm” dedicated particularly to breeding the Merino sheep. At a time when France was still indebted to Spain for wool, he strove to create a new breed capable of competing with those of the Iberian and other foreign territories.
Nouvelle Biographie Générale, 13-14, pp. 162-164; Goldsmith, 12261; Kress, Supplement, 4997.
Price: $650.00