Cuvier, Georges — [Portrait by Ambroise Tardieu]

Paris, ca. 1815. Single sheet (21.2 x 14.5 cm) of thick paper. An oval, engraved portrait. Engraved surface ca 15 x 10 cm. = Portrait by the famous French engraver and cartographer Ambroise Tardieu (1788-1841). "Today, he is best remembered for the over 800 engraved portraits produced during his career, many of which render famous scientists from that period" (Curtis Shuh's bibliography of mineralogy). This portrait shows Cuvier (1769-1832), the famous French "polygraphe", founder of vertebrate palaeontology, member of the Académie Française and Secretary to the Academy of Sciences. He also established the Mollusca as a class and therefore he is the founder of malacology. On this portrait, Cuvier can be seen wearing a Napoleonic Legion d'honneur medal. Provenance: library stamp of the Dr. F. A. Leesenberg Kupferstich- und Portrait-Sammlung on verso. Some light foxing, otherwise a very good copy with broad margins.