Splendid collection of 47 coloured lithograph plates, signed Charles Olivier de Penne in the plate. The captions are in five languages: French, English, German, Italian and Spanish. The plates were issued in the Enseignement par les yeux…(Teaching through the eyes) collection. This series, devoted to natural history, ran to altogether five sets, illustrated by Charles Olivier de Penne (1831-1897), animal painter of the Barbizon school, student of Léon Cogniet and Charles-Émile Jacque. Animals from all parts of the world are represented, including both a kangaroo and an opossum. Such murals for the visual education of children began to be produced in the first half of the nineteenth century with the development of salles d'asile (refuge rooms), the precursors of kindergartens, which were intended for the protection and education of the children of working women.

Splendid collection of 47 coloured lithograph plates, signed Charles Olivier de Penne in the plate. The captions are in five languages: French, English, German, Italian and Spanish. The plates were issued in the Enseignement par les yeux…(Teaching through the eyes) collection. This series, devoted to natural history, ran to altogether five sets, illustrated by Charles Olivier de Penne (1831-1897), animal painter of the Barbizon school, student of Léon Cogniet and Charles-Émile Jacque. Animals from all parts of the world are represented, including both a kangaroo and an opossum. Such murals for the visual education of children began to be produced in the first half of the nineteenth century with the development of salles d'asile (refuge rooms), the precursors of kindergartens, which were intended for the protection and education of the children of working women.

These lithographs were generally laminated on strong board, and would typically have been stored in a large portfolio and brought out for the students at the time of the corresponding lesson. It is unusual to see so many bound together.

Charles Olivier de Penne (1831-1897) was initially a painter of historical scenes, but, once he came into contact with the Barbizon school, he switched to landscape painting, with a passion for depicting animals. He became famous for his paintings of hunting scenes or landscapes with animals. He attempted the grand Prix de Rome in 1857, winning second prize with his Jésus et la Samaritaine. He then exhibited regularly at both the Paris Salon and the Salon des Artistes Français, where he won medals in 1872 and 1883.