Burtin, François Xavier; Oryctographie de Bruxelles, ou Description des Fossiles tant Naturels qu'accidentel découverts jusqu'à ce Jour dans les environs de cette Ville. Brussels: Privately Printed by Le Maire for the Author, 1784. Folio, pp. 153, engraved title page with vignettes & 32 engraved plates (all of which are in color with many finely hand-colored).

In contemporary half calf and marbled boards with six spine panels and gold gilt titles, text untrimmed and plates are bright ad free of toning or foxing.
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Burtin (1743-1818), a Belgian physician, was the first to collect and describe the numerous fossils, stones, and petrified woods found in the neighborhood of Brussels. Several excavations were made and a shaft over one hundred feet deep was dug. The findings are catalogued and illustrated within this work. his is the first edition of one of the most beautiful publications on fossils and minerals. The illustratios include precious stones such as sardonyx, cat's eye, agate, and cornelian; minerals such as gypsum and magnesium; countless shells; and hitherto unknown species of fossilized fish and animals.The most remarkable feature of the book is the magnificent color plates showing numerous specimens of the fossils.