Dubois, Charles Frederic (1804-1867) / Dubois, Alphonse (1839-1921)

Charles Dubois was a Belgian naturalist and the author of three distinctive bird books. Alphonse Dubois was the curator of the Brussels Natural History Museum; he worked alongside his father during his lifetime and continued after his death, completing several important works on birds and butterflies. This work, “Les Oiseaux de l’Europe” (1868-1872), was a scarce ornithological publication issued in a small edition, and supplements the “Oiseaux de la Belgique” by providing figures and descriptions of European birds not found in Belgium. Charles died in 1867 leaving Alphonse to complete the work, which contains 321 beautifully hand colored lithograph plates, after drawings by both father and son. Of the 321 plates, 279 depict birds, while the others are of eggs.

Prints from this publication are quite rare.