1769 Buffon French Engraving, La Chèvre

An original 18th century French engraving from the 1769 edition of Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon’s Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière, published in Paris by the Imprimerie Royale.

Titled La Chèvre, this plate depicts a domestic goat standing in profile within a wonderfully detailed pastoral landscape. The animal’s shaggy coat and distinctive markings are rendered in remarkably fine engraved lines, with village architecture appearing faintly in the distance.

From Tome VI, the plate is signed Bréant Sculp.

Each engraving in this collection was individually removed from the same 1769 volume and is an authentic period print, not a later reproduction. Over 250 years old, the paper shows the expected signs of age, including toning, spotting and variations along the edges. Please note the more prominent area of spotting visible above the goat, as shown in the photographs.

France, 1769
Original copperplate engraving on laid paper