An oversized collector's edition of antique paintings and drawings of birds and animals from France's national natural history collection, among the finest in the world. Every artwork was painted on vellum, and together they span three centuries of exploration, from a time when careful illustration was the only way to record the plants and animals seen on voyages of discovery. Many of the species shown are now endangered or already gone, which makes the book both a celebration and a quiet record of what has been lost. It comes as a jacketed volume in a slipcase, packed in an illustrated mailer with a handle.