Paris, Denné le jeune, Perlet, [1801-] 1806. Single sheet. Very large folio (50.8 x 37.9 cm). Colour-printed by Langlois and Rousset, finished by hand.

A fine, copper-engraved plate, in very good condition, of one of the world's most spectacular birds, the yellow-ridged toucan ( Ramphastos vitellinus culminatus). This original plate is the work of one of the period’s foremost bird illustrators, the French artist Jacques Barraband (1767-1809). Barraband's works are esteemed especially for their realism. Although his illustrations were based on mounted specimens, they were considered the most accurate made during the early 1800s. His birds are never stiff, nor are they artistic rather than accurate, as in, for example, the work of Audubon. The yellow-ridged Toucan from Neotropical rain-forests occurs throughout the tropical part of South America, including Colombia, Venezuela, Equador, Bolivia, Peru, the Guyanas, and Brazil. Originally published in a work by the French explorer and ornithologist François Levaillant (1753-1824), Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux de Paradis et des Rolliers, suivie de Celle des Toucans et des Barbus. Levaillant's book is known to be prone to foxing, but this plate forms a rare exception, with only some very, very minor, spotting near the edges only. Being the largest print of the whole work, the lower line of the caption slighly shaved; otherwise, excellent, clean, the colouring truly magnificent. Anker, 304; Nissen IVB, 559; Ronsil, p. 298; Sitwell, p. 118; Zimmer, p. 393.