The Animal Kingdom: Birds by Edward Griffith, Edward Pidgeon - 1829: Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier

Scarce set of three volumes of The Class Aves, being Volumes 6-8 of the whole series

Complete with all 148 handcoloured and 12 uncoloured engravings of birds mostly by Charles Hamilton Smith, many sketched from live or preserved specimens in European museums and zoological collections.

Plates include the extinct Labrador duck, Camptorhynchus labradorius, endangered green peafowl, Pavo muticus, and yellow cardinal, Gubernatrix cristata, and many other exotic species.

From the rare English-language edition of Baron Cuvier's seminal Le Regne Animal by Edward Griffith published in 15 volumes

Edward Griffith (1790–1858) was a British naturalist and solicitor. He wrote General and Particular Descriptions of the Vertebrated Animals (1821) and translated Georges Cuvier's Règne Animal (1827–35). He was one of the original members of the Zoological Society, and a fellow of the Linnean, Antiquaries, and Royal Societies.

Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Hamilton Smith (1776-1859) was an English artist, naturalist, antiquary, illustrator, soldier, and spy. He wrote and illustrated many books on various subjects including Selections of Ancient Costume of Great Britain and Ireland 1814, Costume of the Army of the British Empire 1815, Costume of the Original Inhabitants of the British Isles 1821, volumes on Mammals and Birds for Griffith's Animal Kingdom, and various volumes on Humans, Mammals, Whales, Amphibious Carnivora, Dogs, Horses, Fish, Monkeys, etc. for Sir William Jardine's Naturalist's Library (1830s-40s).

Half leather, spine with raised bands and gilt title labels in black and red, slightly rubbed, marble boards, new endpapers. Interior mostly clean, a few text pages and plates with some faint water staining, most plates clean and fresh with delicate hand-colour, a few with faint staining to the edge of the page.

A very good set of a rare ornithological work.