By Frederic Cuvier and Geoffroy St. Hilaire. From Histoire Naturelle des Mammiferes. Paris: 1818-42. Hand-colored Lithographs by Charles de Lasteyrie after drawings by Johann Carl Werner. 10 x 16 inches visible, 19 1/4 x 25 1/4 inches framed. Baron Cuvier, known as the "Dictator of Biology" in France, was the author of the famous Animal Kingdom, which superseded George Buffon's pioneering work as the standard illustrated encyclopedia of animals throughout the Western world. The Animal Kingdom, or Le Regne Animal, first appeared in 1817 and was not fully completed until 1849. Published in many editions, both sumptuous and popular, it was a sweeping publication that documented most of the fauna then known to exist throughout the world.