Antique print of Wild Cats. Lion, Leopard and Tiger c1854.

Wonderful hand-coloured wood engraving of Lion, Tiger and Leopard, by Councillor of France, and Minister of Public Instruction,  the great French naturalist, anatomist-zoologist and “father of paleontology”, Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (1769-1832), (Baron Georges Cuvier) for “The Animal Kingdom, Arranged After its Organisation: Forming a Natural History of Animals, and an Introduction to Comparative Anatomy”, with additions by W.R. Carpenter, M.D., F.R.S., and J.O. Westwood, F.L.S., published in London c1854 by S. Orr and Co.

This wonderful illustration shows these wild animals with tremendous character and in particular poses, standing out superbly against the uncoloured engraving of the background. Cuvier was a superior anatomist, and although he would not have personally done this engraving, you can be sure that he would have monitored its creation. It is one of the most beautiful engravings ever done of this subject.

Page size is 26 x 17cm (10 1/4 x 6 3/4inches).