Rare complete set of 3 engravings showing Ocean creatures from "Voyage de découvertes aux terres Australes" (Discovery travel to the Australian lands) by François Péron, published in Paris by Arthus Bertrand in 1807. Illustrations are by the famous Charles Alexandre Lesueur.
Lesueur (1778 - 1846) was a French naturalist, artist, and explorer. He was a prolific natural-history collector, gathering many type specimens in Australia, Southeast Asia, describing numerous species. Both Mount Lesueur and Lesueur National Park in Western Australia are named in his honor.
In 1801, Lesueur traveled to Australia as artist on the expedition of Nicolas Baudin, where he took over the duties as naturalist after the death of the expedition's zoologist René Maugé. He collected over 100,000 zoological specimens.
This is a complete set of 3, which hardly appear on the market still together. A unique oppertunity for those interested in early marine life prints of the Indonesian Archipalago.
Copperplate engravings with original hand colouring, very suitable for framing.