Summary

'Histoire naturelle des perroquets' by Francois Levaillant (1753-1824) was published in two volumes between 1801 and 1805, with the first volume, tome premier, published in 1801. The work features 145 engravings of parrots from North and South America, Asia, Africa and Australia.

'Histoire naturelle des perroquets' describes birds that Levaillant, an explorer-naturalist, saw in the field, as well as specimens in collections and parrots in captivity. 'Perroquets' included nine species collected in Australia that were viewed by Levaillant in captivity in the Netherlands, however the illustrations were mostly based on the skin collection of Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck.

Francois Levaillant was a French explorer, collector, and ornithologist, and was considered to be one of the greatest French naturalists of his generation, attaining prominence by describing many new species of birds that he studied in their natural habitat. Publishing numerous works on natural history, he commissioned leading zoological and botanical illustrator, Jacques Barraband (1767-1809), to illustrate his works. Barraband produced over 300 watercolours depicting vivid, colourful birds for Levaillant's three great ornithological monographs: 'Histoire naturelle des perroquets' (1801-1805), 'Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Afrique' (1799) and 'Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis et des rolliers' (1806). Museums Victoria Library also holds 'Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Afrique' in the Rare Book Collection.

Considered one of the best painters of natural history, Barraband drew the original drawings for the work and then collaborated with Louis Bouquet and Langlois to create the engravings. The plates were engraved using the stipple engraving technique, which was used to create tonal variations by distributing a pattern of dots and lines of various sizes and densities across the image.

The plates were primarily printed in colour, a remarkable feat for the early 1800s, and were carefully inked 'a la poupee' with brilliant colours. This technique was considered revolutionary as the different colours were carefully applied with cloth to a single plate for each impression, instead of using separate plates for each colour (most colour printing processes of the time used this technique). After the printing process was complete, finer details and highlights were carefully added by hand.

Physical Description

A quarter bound volume with brown leather and mottled brown paper covers. Contains 135 pages of text, 72 plates with original tissue guards and a table of contents. Some of the plates in Museums Victoria's copy of 'Histoire naturelle des perroquets' are bound out of sequence. In tome premier, plate 11 is followed by plate 13 and then plate 12, and then returns to normal sequencing. Plate 57 is followed by plate 59, then plate 58 and plate 60, and then returns to normal sequencing.

Significance

'Histoire naturelle des perroquets' represents a high point in the history of ornithological art and is celebrated as having some of the most lifelike renderings of birds in ornithological literature. The images have a strong three-dimensional quality, achieved not only through accurate drawing, but through the combination of colour printing and further additions of bright colours and shading, done by hand in watercolour. Levaillant was at the forefront of colour printing techniques, and the quality of his ornithological works have stood the test of time.

Celebrated for its artistic brilliance and beauty 'Histoire naturelle des perroquets' also has its fair share of critics with historians and scientists saying the work contains at least eight unidentifiable species of parrot, which they believe were either poorly remembered or fabricated.

Scientifically, 'Histoire naturelle des perroquets' was one of the first European publications to record sightings of Australian parrots. The work includes nine species collected in Australia including:

Eastern, Crimson and Green Rosellas (Many- Coloured Parakeet, Broad-tailed Parakeet and the first variety of Broad-Tailed Parakeet)
Australian King Parrot (Female Great Blue-Collared Blue-Rumped Parakeet)
Ground Parrot (Nimble Parakeet)
Swift Parrot (Banks Parakeet)
Musk Lorikeet (Red-Fronted Parakeet)
Little Lorikeet (Red-faced Parakeet)
Orange-Bellied Parrot or, alternatively, Turquoise Parrot (Edwards Parakeet)

Four other species were included that occur in Australia but, at the time, were thought to be from the islands to the north:

Palm Cockatoo (Trunked Black Ara and Trunked Grey Ara)
Rainbow Lorikeet (Blue-Headed Parakeet)
Eclectus Parrot (Great Lory Parrot)
Red-Cheeked Parrot (Geoffroy Parrot)

'Histoire naturelle des perroquets' also records three parrots which are now extinct: the Cuban Macaw, the Carolina Parrot, and the Mascarene Parrot.

As Levaillant did not adhere to the Linnaean rules of scientific nomenclature, the many new species he described were formally named by, and hence credited to, other ornithologists.

The title has broader cultural significance, having been used by the Emperor Napolean to court favour with royal families, scientists, and learned bodies of neighbouring nations. After becoming Emperor, it was part of Napoleon's policy to produce a series of magnificent publications to rival those of Louis XIV in order to demonstrate the wealth and dominance of the French empire. The first volume of 'Histoire naturelle des perroquets' was published during the First Republic (1792-1804) and the second volume was published after Napolean became Emporer in 1804. Published in a time of political turmoil, both title pages give primacy to the Republican calendar date which replaced the Gregorian calendar in France from 1793 to 1805: An. IX or 1801, meaning the ninth year of the Republic, and An. XIII or 1805, meaning the thirteenth year of the Republic.

More Information

  • Collecting Areas

    Rare Books

  • Engraver

    Louis Bouquet, France, 1801

  • Artist

    Jacques Barraband, France, 1801

  • Engraver

    Langlois, France, 1801

  • Publisher

    Chez Levrault, France, 1801

  • Author

    François Levaillant, France, 1801

  • Category

    Library

  • Discipline

    Rare Books

  • Type of item

    Object

  • Object Measurements

    55.8 cm (Length), 37.5 cm (Width), 6 cm (Height)

  • References

    Olson, P (2015) "The independent ornithologist", The National Library Magazine, Australia, viewed online 2024. Le Vaillant, F. et al. (1801) Histoire naturelle des perroquets. Paris, Strasbourg: Chez Levrault, fre`res ; De l'imprimerie de Levrault. St. John, James Augustus (1832), The lives of celebrated travellers, Volume 3, New York: J. & J. Harper, pp. 262-326, The lives of celebrated travellers : St. John, James Augustus, 1801-1875. Glenn, Ian (2009), "Levaillant's Bird Books and the Origins of a Genre", Alternation, 16 (2): 91-101, Wayback Machine (archive.org). Lloyd, David (2004), "François le Vaillant and the myth of the noble savage", Scrutiny 2. 9 (2): 53-62. doi:10.1080/18125441.2004.9684190. hdl:10500/4618. S2CID 162157265. Swainson, William (1833), "Memoir of Le Vaillant", The Naturalist's Library. Volume 12. Ornithology. Birds of Western Africa. Part 2. London: Henry G. Bohn. pp. 17-31.

  • Keywords

    Engraving, Birds, Illustrations, Natural History, Printing, Sciences, Art, Parrots, Ornithology