Second voyage dans l'intérieur de l'Afrique, par le cap de Bonne Espérance, pendant les années 1783, 1784 et 1785

First edition illustrated with 22 plates of animals, natives and landscapes, five of which are folding.
Contemporary marbled brown sheep binding. Smooth spine decorated with a central urn tool and 2 other tools at headcaps. Roulettes in place of raised bands and at head. Frame roulette on boards. Chocolate title-label, black volume labels, all in sheep. Rubbing. Scattered pale foxing. Good copy.
François Levaillant (1753-1824) is a French explorer and ornithologist. In 1781, the treasurer of the Dutch East India Company sent him to Cape Province, in South Africa. He then collected numerous specimens in the region, bringing back more than 2000 bird skins to France. A second voyage (1783-1784) took him north of the Orange River, into Namaqualand. He would later publish the Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Afrique. All his books achieved great success throughout Europe. His ornithological collection would join the Leiden museum, France not acquiring it. Some bird names he invented are still in use. Some time later, species would bear his name, like Levaillant's Cuckoo. This second voyage describes Namaqualand, Damaraland, Bechuanaland and the Kalahari Desert.