1769 Buffon French Engraving, Le Marcassin & Le Cochon de Lait

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.

This wonderful double plate depicts Le Marcassin, a young wild boar, above Le Cochon de Lait, or suckling pig. Each animal is shown within its own detailed setting, the wild boar against a wooded landscape and the domestic pig within a rustic farmyard scene.

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, all visible in the photographs.

France, 1769
Original copperplate engraving on laid paper