Baobab & Beech Journal — Dictionnaire Pittoresque 1833 French Natural History

In the 1830s, a team of French naturalists, engravers, and colourists set out to document the entire natural world. Two of their plates — a colossal baobab rising from the African savanna, and a European beech sheltering a long-eared owl at dusk — appear on the covers of this journal, hand-coloured engravings from one of the most beautiful encyclopaedias of the nineteenth century.

The front cover reproduces the baobab plate from the Dictionnaire pittoresque d'histoire naturelle et des phénomènes de la nature (Paris, 1833–1839), directed by Félix-Édouard Guérin-Méneville, with figures gathered at the base of the massive trunk — a steel engraving coloured by hand with watercolour, combining botanical detail with picturesque landscape. The back cover presents the beech and long-eared owl plate (Hêtre / Hibou moyen Duc), engraved by Acarie Baron with botanical details by Adolphe Fries — a forest scene that carries within it the deep etymological connection between the beech tree and the book itself: in German, Buche (beech) and Buch (book) share the same ancient root.

Product Details

• Format: Hardcover journal
• Pages: 150 lined pages (75 sheets) with perforations for easy removal
• Binding: Casewrap sewn binding — flexible and lay-flat
• Dimensions: 5.75 × 8 inches
• Weight: 100 g
• Cover: Matte laminated full-wrap print
• Note: small production barcode (0.5" × 0.5") on back cover

Perfect For

• Lovers of French natural history illustration and 19th-century botanical art
• Admirers of the baobab — the ancient tree of life of the African savanna
• Those drawn to European forest symbolism, Celtic mythology, and the history of writing
• Birdwatchers, naturalists, and lovers of owls and woodland wildlife
• Thoughtful gift for book lovers, travellers, and collectors of rare illustrated encyclopaedias
• Anyone captivated by the idea that the tree and the book share the same name

Read the story of the baobab, the beech, and the Dictionnaire pittoresque on our blog: The Tree That Became a Book.