1. Art and Diseño

antiquariaat FORUM & ASHER Rare Books
Natural History I
Natural history I
e-catalogue
Jointly offered for sale by:
Extensive descriptions and images available on request
All offers are without engagement and subject to prior sale.
All items in this list are complete and in good condition unless stated otherwise.
Any item not agreeing with the description may be returned within one week after receipt.
Prices are EURO (€). Postage and insurance are not included. VAT is charged at the standard rate to all
EU customers. EU customers: please quote your VAT number when placing orders. Preferred mode of payment:
in advance, wire transfer or bankcheck. Arrangements can be made for MasterCard and VisaCard.
Ownership of goods does not pass to the purchaser until the price has been paid in full. General conditions of sale
are those laid down in the Algemene Voorwaarden van de Nederlandsche Vereeniging van Antiquaren
(Dutch Association of Antiquarian Booksellers), which can be viewed at: http://www.nvva.nl/terms.php.
New customers are requested to provide references when ordering.
Orders can be sent to either firm.
Antiquariaat FORUM BV
Tuurdijk 16
3997 ms ‘t Goy – Houten
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)30 6011955
Fax:
+31 (0)30 6011813
E–mail: [email protected]
Web: www.forumrarebooks.com
www.forumislamicworld.com
cover image: no. 33
ASHER Rare Books
Tuurdijk 16
3997 ms ‘t Goy – Houten
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)30 6011955
Fax:
+31 (0)30 6011813
E–mail: [email protected]
Web: www.asherbooks.com
v 1.0 · 28 Jan 2015
Comprehensive 12th-century Arabic treatise on agriculture
1. A BU Z A K A R I YA ibn a l-AW WA M. Libro de
agricultura. ... Tomo I[-II].
Including:
(2) BROECK , Victor van den. Catecismo de agricultura.
( 3) V I LLE , Georges. Abonos químicos conferencias agrícolas.
Seville, Biblioteca Científico Literaria; Madrid, Victoriano Suarez
(colophon: printed by Salvador Acuña y Comp., Seville), 1878. 2
volumes. Imperial 16o. Later half turquoise sheepskin.
€ 1,750
Second Spanish edition of a classic 12th-century Arabic treatise on
agriculture, known in Arabic as Kitab al-filaha and first published
in a parallel Arabic and Spanish edition by the Imprenta Real in
Madrid in 1802. Most of the book deals with agriculture, including
fruits, vegetables, grains (including rice), legumes and cotton, with
discussions of soils, the benefits of letting fields lie fallow, crop
rotation, fertilizers, irrigation, pruning, grafting, ploughing, making
preserves, and plant diseases. The last few chapters discuss animal
husbandry, including horses and animal diseases. It was the most
comprehensive Arabic treatise on the subject, incorporating large
parts of the most important earlier works on the subject, most
notably the work of Ibn Wafid. Zakariya also made use of classical
Greek sources.
Each volume with the bookplate of Pedro Jorba Valls. Slightly
browned and with two or three leaves with minor marginal defects,
but still in good condition. Bindings very good. A comprehensive
practical guide to agriculture, originally written in Arabic ca. 1185.
REBUIN (4 copies?); cf. Schnurrer 425 (1802 ed.).
4
First geological textbook on the teachings of Werner
2. AU BU ISSON DE VOISI NS , Jean
François d’. Traité de géognosie, ou exposé
des connaissances actuelles sur la constitution
physique et minérale du globe terrestre.
Strasbourg, F.G. Levrault, 1819. 2 volumes.
8o. With 2 folding engraved plates, of which
1 finely coloured by hand, and 1 folding table.
Contemporary half calf.
€ 650
The first geological textbook in France
based on the teachings of Werner. It won
wide popularity on account of its clearness
and elegance in the mode of treatment.
D’Aubuisson held closely to the methodical
arrangement of the subject introduced by
Werner and took his illustrative examples
chiefly from French geology. His deviation
of Werner’s teaching was the insertion of
Tertiary formations between the Secundary
deposits and diluvial clays and gravels. He
was, together with Leopold von Buch and
Alexander von Humboldt, one of the three
great pupils of Werner (Zittel, pp. 143-144).
Heads of spines damaged. A good set of this
classic work.
BMC NH, p. 70; Ward 88.
5
Corsican geology and a rare work on wheat-rot
3. BA R R A L , Pierre. Mémoire sur l’histoire naturelle de l’isle de Corse, avec un catalogue lythologique de cette isle, & des réflexions
sommaires sur l’existence physique de notre globe.
London and Paris, Molini, Onfroy, 1783. With a folding engraved map of Corsica with geological characteristics colour-coded, a pictorial
wood-engraved vignette on the title-page and another in an elaborate decorative frame as a headpiece.
With: (2) T E SSIER , Henri Alexandre. Résultats des expériences faites a rambouillet, sous les yeus du roi, relativement à la maladie du
froment, appellée carie; ...
Paris, widow Herissant, Théophile Barrois le jeune, 1785. With a wood-engraved decoration on the title-page and a wood-engraved headpiece.
With the map hand-coloured as published, and with a Corsican provenance. 2 works in 1 volume. 8o. Contemporary half mottled calf, goldtooled spine. Rebacked with the original back-strip laid down.
€ 1,200
Ad 1: The first detailed geological study of the island of Corsica, with a 56-page classified catalogue of well over 200 varieties of basalts, granites,
jaspers, agates, soapstones, serpentines, marbles and alabasters. This is the first publication by Barral (1742-1827), a Corsican infantry officer and
inspector of roads and bridges who went on to publish several further geological works.
Ad 2: A rare work on wheat-rot by Tessier
(1741-1837), with an advertisement for two
other works on plant and animal diseases by
the same author. Though not from the same
publisher as the Barral, the present book also
has a headpiece by Millière (dated 1779 and
with the name of the widow Herissant).
With a large library stamp on the title page
from the Église du Sacré-Coeur in Bastia,
Corsica. In very good condition, with only
a marginal stain in the last few leaves, an
occasional spot and one tiny marginal hole.
The binding rebacked, rubbed and with one
new flyleaf at the end. A pioneering study of
Corsican geology, together with a very rare
work on wheat-rot.
Ad 1: BMC NH, p. 100; Poggendorff I cols. 104-105; not in
Hoover; Sinkankas; Ward. Ad 2: not in Hunt; Pritzel; Kew
Gardens Cat. on-line.
6
South African flora
4. BERGI US , Peter. Descriptiones plantarum ex
capite bonae spei, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus
trivialibus et synonymis auctorum justis. Secundum
systema sexuale.
Stockholm, L. Salvus, 1767. 8o. With 5 folding engraved
plates. Modern boards.
€ 1,950
First edition of Bergius’s first major publication, and
the first Linnean flora of South African plants. “One of
the rarest and oldest works treating the botany of the
Cape of Good Hope” (Mendelssohn). Bergius had been
Linnaeus’s pupil, and based this flora on the collections
of Cape plants assembled by Mikael Grubb, a director
of the Swedish East India Company. Library-stamps on
back of title-page; some browning. A good copy of this
early and important South African flora.
Mendelssohn I, p. 116; Pritzel 673; Soulsby 649d; Stafleu & Cowan 458.
7
Five illustrated articles on comparative anatomy of quadruped mammals
5. BOJA N US , Ludwig Heinrich. Observatio anatomica de
fetu canino 24 dierum ejusque velamentis.
[Bonn, 1820]. With 1 engraved plate by C. Müller after Bojanus.
With:
(2) BOJA N US , Ludwich Heinrich. De merycotherii Sibirici, ...
[Bonn, 1825]. With 2 engraved plates (1 folding) by F. Lehmann
after Bojanus.
( 3) BOJA N US , Ludwich Heinrich. Craniorum argalidis,
ovis et caprae domesticate comparatio.
[Bonn, 1824]. With 2 engraved plates by F. Lehmann after
Bojanus.
(4) BOJA N US , Ludwich Heinrich. Adversaria, ad dentitionem equini generis et ovis domesticae spectantia.
[Bonn, 1825]. With 2 engraved plates by F. Lehmann after
Bojanus.
( 5) BOJA N US , Ludwich Heinrich. De uro nostrate eiusque
sceleto commentatio.
[Bonn, 1825]. With 5 large folding lithographed plates by Thomas
Wild after Bojanus and E. Schenk. 5 works in 1 volume. 4o.
Modern boards.
€ 1,250
A collection of five articles on the comparative anatomy of quadruped
mammals by the Alsatian-German physician and naturalist Ludwig Heinrich
Bojanus (1776-1827) at the University of Vilnius in Lithuania. All were
published in Nova acta Academiae Leopoldino-Carolinae (1820-1825). Besides
articles on the fetal and embryonic states of dogs (ad 1), the skulls of the
argali and domesticated sheep and goats (ad 3), the teeth of horses and sheep
(ad 4), it includes an interesting article on the teeth of a supposedly newly discovered species of camel from Siberia (ad 2) and a well-illustrated article on
the skeleton of the aurochs, the ancestors of domestic cattle.
Some occasional minor foxing, a small tear in one plate but
otherwise in very good condition. The last article has been
trimmed, but the others are untrimmed and have generous
margins.
Ad 1-5: Engelmann, Bibl. Hist. Nat., pp. 207 & 586; ad 5: Nissen, ZBI 447; none in BMC
NH; Wood.
8
Famous Dutch anatomist on the conflicting demands of family life, academic career and scientific pursuits
6. CA M PER , Petrus. [Autograph letter, signed, to Reinier
Arrenberg].
Groningen, 2 February 1773. 4o. Brown ink on laid paper, addressed on
the outside and with an armorial red wax seal.
With: [ PU JOS , André]. P. Camper, …
[Paris, André Pujos, 1786]. 4o. Mezzotint portrait on laid paper. € 4,750
Signed autograph letter from the well-known Dutch anatomist
Petrus Camper (1722-1789), professor of medicine and anatomy at the
University of Groningen, to the bookseller, publisher and newspaper
editor Reinier Arrenberg (1733-1812), to let him know that circumstances had prevented him from completing his work for the first
volume (1774) of the Verhandelingen van het Bataafsch Genootschap
der Proefondervindelyke Wysbegeerte te Rotterdam in the vacation
and that he would not be able to complete his contributions in the
coming three months as intended.
The portrait was drawn from life by André Pujos (1738-1788) and
executed in mezzotint by Claude Dominique Vinsac (ca. 1749-ca.
1800). It has no imprint or artist’s name, but the Mercure Français
described it and filled in many of the details: “très bien dessiné d’après
nature par M. Pujos, & très-bien gravé par M. Vinsac, se trouve à
Paris, chez M. Pujos, quai Pelletier, près la Grève.”
The letter has a chip where the recipient opened it (the piece torn
off is still attached to the seal) and a hole through the foot of both
leaves where it was probably tied with a ribbon. The seal itself survives
virtually complete, but has been squashed, so that one cannot see
details of the arms. The portrait has been trimmed down to the border
and mounted on a backing sheet with a manuscript heading. Both are
otherwise in very good condition. A letter from a well-known Dutch
scientist, noting the difficulties that were to lead him to relinquish his
professorship.
For the portrait: Mercure Français, 1786, no. 10 (11 March 1786), p. 92; v. Eynden & v. d.
Willigen IV, p. 176.
9
Redouté’s magnificent masterpiece: a turning-point in botanical illustration and colour printing,
with 144 colour-printed cactus and succulent plates, overseen and retouched by Redouté himself
7. CA N DOLLE , August Pyramus de.
Plantarum succulentarum historia. Ou
Histoire naturelle des plantes grasses.
Paris, Pierre Didot l’ainé, 1799-[1804]. 2
volumes bound as 1, issued in 24 parts. Royal
2o (52 × 34 cm). With 144 stipple-engraved colour-printed plates (inked à la poupée), finished
by hand, 142 by Pierre-Joseph Redouté and 2
by his younger brother Henri-Joseph Redouté.
Late 19th-century richly gold- and blind-tooled
green morocco, gold-tooled turn-ins and board
edges, printed turquoise imitation marbled
endpapers, with gold veins added separately,
gilt edges.
€ 29,500
First edition of a visually magnificent and
scientifically and technically ground-breaking work on cacti and succulents, set in a
larger type and printed (in only 100 copies)
on larger paper than the nearly simultaneous
second edition, and overseen and retouched
by the artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840)
himself: deservedly one of the most famous
works in the history of botany and botanical
illustration. It was the first work illustrated
wholly by Redouté and his first using the
technique of colour-printing later used for
his famous Roses and other works: each
image was printed from a single stipple-engraved plate, carefully and subtly inked in
colour à la poupée and retouched by Redouté
after printing. The quality of the result was
therefore partly dependent on the time and
skill devoted to the inking and printing, and
in the 100 copies of the present first edition,
Redouté oversaw the inking and printing
himself. Although Redouté was not the
first to use this technique, he is generally
credited with its perfection. The present book
first established his reputation: his “most
important work, and from the point of view
of technique and of pure colour printing
Redouté’s masterpiece” (Dunthorne). It
includes many species of cacti and succulents native to the Cape of Good Hope,
the Barbary Coast, Egypt, North, South
and especially Central America and almost
all parts of the world, including Egypt,
Madagascar, the East Indies and even New
Zealand, China and Japan.
With an occasional minor and mostly
marginal blemish, including some small
marginal tears, some repaired, and foxing
in the last few text leaves, but still in very
good condition, nearly all of the plates fine.
The binding is slightly worn, mostly at the
hinges, but still very good. The first, best
and most luxurious printing of Redouté’s
masterpiece, with 144 beautifully and subtly
colour-printed cacti and succulents, retouched
by Redouté himself.
Dunthorne 241; GFB, p. 53; Hunt, Redoutéana 6 & pp. 12-19;
Nissen, BBI 321; Plesch, pp. 169-170; Pritzel 1463; Stafleu &
Cowan 983; Stiftung für Botanik 182.
10
Large folding plates of greenhouses and exotic fruits
8. [COU RT VA N DER VOORT, Pieter de
la]. Les agremens de la campagne ou Remarques
particulieres sur la construction des maisons de
campagne ... des jardins de plaisance, & de plantages.
Leiden, Samuel Luchtmans and sons; Amsterdam,
Meynard Uytwerf, 1750. 4o. With title-page in red
and black with woodcut floral decoration, 15 folding
engraved plates (6 showing plans, sections, etc. for
garden lay-out and architecture; 9 with exotic fruits,
etc.) and 1 full-page engraved plan on an integral leaf.
Contemporary mottled calf, richly gold-tooled spine,
gold-tooled board edges.
€ 1,750
First French edition of an extensive account, with 15
large folding engraved plates, of the layout and design
of luxurious grounds, gardens, greenhouses and other
out buildings for estates, by the wealthy Amsterdam
merchant, Pieter de la Court van der Voort (1664-1739).
De la Court spared no expense with the large plates,
engraved for the Dutch edition by leading artist-engravers, the 9 magnificent plates of exotic fruit-bearing plants by Jan Caspar Philips (1690-1775) and Jan
Wandelaar (1690-1759), the latter best known for his
botanical engravings for Linnaeus.
In very good condition, with occasional minor
browning and a small tear along the fold of one plate,
just touching the edge of the plan. Binding also very
good, with only a few scratches on the boards and
minor wear at the extremities. Splendid large folding
plates of greenhouses and exotic fruits.
Arnold Arboretum, p. 406; Barbier I, col. 81; STCN (4 copies); not in BAL;
Nissen, BBI; Oak Spring Pomona (but see p. xxxiii for Pieter de la Court).
11
Most extensive edition of a
fundamental classic of vertebrate
palaeontology
with 280 illustrations
9. CU V IER , Georges. Recherches sur les
ossemens fossiles, où l’on rétablit les caractères de
plusieurs animaux dont les revolutions du globe
ont détruit les espèces. Quatrième edition.
Paris, Edmond d’Ocagne, J.B. Bailière, F.G.
Levrault, Crochard, Roret, 1834-1836. 10 text
volumes (8o) (volume 8 in 2 parts) and 2 atlas
volumes (4o). With engraved author’s portrait, 260
[=261] numbered (partly folded) engraved plates
and 18 plates numbered A-F (no plate I), including
2 hand-coloured engraved maps (1 folded), 1
engraved cross-section of the terrain of Paris and
15 lithographed plates. Uniform contemporary
green half morocco, with gold-tooled spine and
green sprinkled edges, with gilt owner’s name of
Dr. d’Korth on spine.
€ 3,750
Fourth and most extensive edition of a fundamental classic of vertebrate palaeontology
by the French naturalist and zoologist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832), edited by his brother
Friedrich Cuvier. “In the whole literature of comparative anatomy and palaeontology there
is scarcely any work that can rank with this great masterpiece of Cuvier.”
“We follow him in his attempts to identify the remains of the fossil mammalian by comparison with existing mammalian species, and we realize with him the necessity of a
thorough examination of the bony skeleton of existing mammals before such a comparison
can be effected” (Zittel).
From the library of the 19th-century Uruguayan
homeopath Dr. Juan Christiano d’Korth who
set up a practice at Montevideo in 1847. With
his name on the spines and library stamps on
the title-pages. In very good condition, fly-leafs
browned and corners of the bindings slightly
bumped.
BMC NH, p. 409; Nissen, ZBI 1011; Ward 568; Zittel, pp. 135-139;
cf. Horblit 20b (ed. 1812).
12
First Russian edition of Darwin’s “Origin of species”
10. DA RW I N, Charles. [In Cyrillic type:] O proischozhdenii
vidov [= On the origin of species].
St. Petersburg, Alexander Illich Glazunov (printed by Glazunov),
1864. 8o. With 1 lithographed plate showing Darwin’s famous
branching tree of life, and 4 pages of Glazunov’s publisher’s advertisements at the end, describing 25 publications. Set entirely in
Cyrillic type. Modern half brown morocco, with the original publisher’s printed back wrapper bound in.
€ 7,500
Rare first Russian edition of Darwin’s On the origin of species, translated by Sergei A. Rachinskii, professor of botany at Moscow
University. Like the first English edition it includes one plate,
showing Darwin’s famous branching tree of life, an icon of his theory
of evolution. Darwin was both very popular and very influential in
Russia. The present translator published an article presenting some
of these ideas early in 1863, calling Darwin’s Origin “one of the most
brilliant books ever to be written in the natural sciences” (Vucinich,
pp. 18-19). It helped give birth to a new generation of natural scientists in Russia whose students included the great Ivan Pavlov. But
in Russia Darwin’s influence went far beyond science. It inspired
anti-czarist democratic political movements as well as Marx, Engels,
Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin. Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky also refer to
Darwin and his ideas became firmly imbedded in Russian culture
generally.
Foxed throughout, severely in a couple quires but not affecting the
plate. Otherwise in good condition. It probably lacks an initial blank
leaf. First Russian translation of Darwin’s Origin, inaugurating a
hey-day of natural science in Russia.
Freeman 748; Alexander Vucinich, Darwin in Russian thought (1988), p. 19 & passim; WorldCat
(4 copies).
13
Russian "Origin of species", independent of the first
Russian edition four months before
11. DA RW I N, Charles. [In cyrillic type:] Uchenie o
proischozhdenii vidov [= Theory on the origin of species].
St. Petersburg, M.O. Wolf (printed by Wolf), 1864. 8o. With 18
wood-engravings in the text, illustrating extinct species (the deinotherium repeated on the title-page). Set entirely in Cyrillic type.
Contemporary tanned sheepskin.
€ 7.500
Very rare second Russian edition of Darwin's On the origin of
species and here in a version quite independent of what is generally
regarded as the first Russian edition, also published in 1864 but
probably about four months earlier. The present edition opens with
a biography of Darwin, apparently written for the present edition.
The main text is not translated directly from the English, but
from an extensive German epitome and paraphrase by Friedrich
Rolle. The translation is by Mikhail Vladimirskii. While the first
Russian edition followed the English edition in having only one
plate, the present edition is illustrated with 18 wood-engravings
in the text, mostly illustrating extinct species. Russia's enormous
interest in Darwin at this date is demonstrated by the fact that both
1864 editions rapidly sold out, so that both were reprinted in the
following year. They initiated a hey-day of Russian natural science.
They had, moreover an enormous influence on Russian political
theories, literature and culture in general.
With an occasional manuscript marginal note, and an occasional word underlined in pencil. With minor foxing throughout,
more extensive in an occasional leaf, but otherwise in very good
condition. Binding rubbed and the head of the backstrip chipped.
Very rare second (and independent) Russian edition of Darwin's
Origin.
Alexander Vucinich, Darwin in Russian thought (1988), p. 44; WorldCat (1 copy); cf. Freeman
748 (other 1864 Russian ed.).
14
Early description of fossils
12. DÉZ A LLIER D’A RGEN V I LLE , Antoine
Joseph. Enumerationis fossilium, quæ in omnibus Galliæ
provinciis reperiuntur, tentamina.
Paris, Jean de Bure, 1751. 8o. Modern half morocco. € 1,500
First and only edition of Dezaillier d’Argenville’s rarest work,
an early description of fossils found in France, published
more than a half century before Lamarck and Cuvier established fossils as the foundation for modern palaeontology.
After an 8-page introduction, the fossils are briefly described
in running text, arranged in a geographical hierarchy
according to the place where the fossil was found, with the
French place names in footnotes.
Dezaillier d’Argenville (1680-1765) studied fine art, but took
an interest in natural history at an early age and assembled
one of the finest collections in France. He is now best known
for his 1742 Histoire Naturelle based on those collections.
Although that work was a great success and remains popular
among amateurs, the present little book is more innovative, as only a few scientists were beginning to study fossils
in relation to stratigraphy and to compare their forms with
those of modern plants and animals. While the present work
is purely descriptive, making no direct contribution to the
understanding of the nature of fossils, it laid the subject on
the table and offered data for future research.
In very good condition, with a couple marginal stains on the
title-page and one leaf with a piece torn out of the margin
(still present, loosely inserted) just touching the text. A very
good copy of a little-known early account of fossils.
Ward 661; not in BMC NH; Brunet; Graesse; for the author: DSB I, pp. 243-244;
NBG XIV, pp. 10-11.
15
163 specimens of beetles with 3 engraved
plates, including 2 coloured
13. F ISCH ER VON WA LDH EI M , Gotthelf.
Spicilegium Entomographiae Rossicae.
[Moscow, 1844]. 8o. With 3 engraved plates with beetles,
including 2 hand-coloured. Later paper wrappers, with
original front wrapper bound in.
€ 625
Extract with descriptions of 163 specimens of coleoptera from the Bulletin de la Société des naturalistes de
Moscou 17, by Fischer von Waldheim (1771-1853), a famous
scientist and geologist, who was appointed professor at
the Imperial University in Moscow (1804), and director
of its Museum of Natural History. After an 1812 fire
destroyed parts of the collection, he began to describe
the remaining objects and founded the new Museum of
Natural History. In very good condition, with the bolts
unopened. First leaf and original wrapper slightly soiled,
with a dampstain on the first few leaves.
Hagen I, p. 237; Horn & Schenkling 6666; not in BMC NH.
16
Epoch-making study of serpent venoms
14. FON TA NA , Felice. Traité sur le vénin de la
Vipere sur les poisons Americains sur le laurier-cerise
et sur quelques autres poisons végétaux. On y a joint
des observations sur la structure primitive du corps
animal. Différentes expériences sur la reproduction
des nerfs et la description d’un nouveau canal de l’oeil.
Florence, (without publisher), 1781. 2 volumes. 4o.
With 10 engraved plates. Contemporary half calf,
gold-tooled spine with morocco title label, marbled
sides and endpapers, and sprinkled edges.
€ 1,500
A very good copy of “[t]he starting point of modern
investigations of serpent venoms.” (Garrison). This
work contains many of the outstanding discoveries made by the Italian physiologist and anatomist
Felice Fontana (1730-1805), professor at the University
of Pisa. It mainly describes experiments on viper
venom and other poisons like the poison called
ticunas by American Indians, the laurel-cherry tree,
tobacco oil, etc. And here published for the first time,
Fontana describes in a letter the “Fontana’s canal,” an
important ophthalmological discovery.
Some occasional minor spots, bindings rubbed, both
volumes with slightly damaged hinges. Very good
set of a very important work on serpent venoms and
other poisons.
BMC NH, p. 590; Cole Library 1836; Garrison, Hist. Neurology, pp.
106-107, 124; Sabin 24988; Wellcome (1641-1850), p. 37; Wood, p. 344.
17
Flower artist’s unique
engraved & handcoloured sample-book
15. FR EU DEN BERG,
Caroline von. Neue
Blumenstraüsse, oder Muster
zur feinen Stickkunst.
Nuremberg, Joh. Bernh.
Geyer, [ca. 1825]. Oblong
folio (24 × 37 cm).
Samplebook of flower
engravings comprising titleplate with wreath of flowers,
and 5 sample plates with
6 engravings, the plates
numbered [1], 2-6. Handcoloured. Contemporary
marbled wrappers with
engraved orange title-label.
€ 4,000
A beautiful and possibly unique engraved samplebook of flowers by the artist Caroline von
Freudenberg, apparently a commercial flower
artist in Nuremberg, and the engraver (Georg
Friedrich?) Vogel. On the title-page, the artist’s
name, title, engraver’s name and imprint are
engraved in a wreath of flowers showing a wide
variety of types and colours, leaves 2 to 3 show
three examples of flowers arranged to form
bands as they might be to make a floral border,
leaves 4 to 5 show bouquets and leaf six shows
roses in a neoclassical vase. The book calls
itself “New Bouquet, or Samplebook of fine
Engraving”, and probably served to show publishers what sort of decorative flower engravings
they could order from the artist and engraver.
It was no doubt distributed as a trade catalogue
rather than as a collection of artistic prints,
explaining the book’s extreme rarity. The individual prints, especially the bouquets, might
well have been sold separately, but they have
no text except the leaf number. Some foxing,
mostly in the margins, and with the five sample
plates detached as a block. Very good copy.
Neither artist nor book in ADB; Berlin Kat.; BMC; Nagler;
Nissen, BBI; Pritzel; Thieme & Becker; KVK; Kew Gardens
on-line cat.;WorldCat; RLIN; Sauer, Int. Biog. Ind.
18
A model in modern historiography
16. GAY, Claude. Historia Fisica y Politica de Chile,
segun documentos adquiridos en esta Republica durante
doce annos de residencia en ella.
Santiago and Paris, Fain, Thunot, Maulde, etc., 18441871. 28 volumes in 8o (text) and 2 volumes in large 4o
(atlas). With tinted lithographed frontispiece portrait, 20
engraved maps, 55 lithographed plates of views, costumes
and antiquities, 41 tinted, and 103 engraved plates, 103
hand-coloured plates in the first atlas vol., and 135 handcoloured engraved plates on zoology in the second atlas
vol. 20th-century half morocco.
€ 39,500
First edition of this monumental account of the natural
and civil history of Chile, with numerous beautiful
illustrations mostly in very fine colouring. This set has
the complete text, which is unusual since the work was
issued over a period of 27 years.
In 1830, the French botanist Claude Gay was asked by
the government of Chile to make a detailed description
of the history, geography, geology and natural history
of their country. Gay travelled through Chile during
eleven years to do all the scientific research he needed
for his work. The result was the present work, the first
complete description of Chilean history and a model in
modern historiography, with its meticulous examination
of sources and documents. Good set.
Nissen, BBI 695; Nissen, ZBI 1488; Palau 100869 ("Es muy dificil reunir la
obra complete"); Sabin 26779; Zimmer, p. 237.
19
Collection with important articles on geology, mining and metallurgy, mineralogy and chemistry
17. [GEOLOGY PA PER S]. [Volume with 11 articles, lectures and pamphlets on geology, mining and metallurgy, geochemistry,
paleozoology, etc. by G.A. Daubrée, H.C. Sorby, J.A. Phillips, J. Dana, H.E. Sainte-Claire Deville, Th. Belt, J.H. Collins, W.B. Taylor and J.W.
Dawson].
[Published in America and Europe, ca. 1840-1880]. 11 parts in 1 volume. 8o. With illustrations. Contemporary brown half morocco.
€ 1,000
Collection of 11 important articles, treatises, and lectures on geology, mining and metallurgy, geochemistry, chemistry, paleozoology etc. They
include some of the first accounts of Dana’s findings on corals and volcanology, Sorby’s famous paper on fluid cavities in crystals, an article by
Deville on dissociation, and important studies by Daubrée on geochemistry.
Bookplates of James Douglas, some slight browning. Good copy of this collection with important articles on geology, mineralogy, mining,
chemistry and philosophy of nature.
20
Untrimmed copy of Goethe on botany
18. GOE T H E , Johann Wolfgang von. Essai sur la
métamorphose des plantes.
Geneva, Paris, J. Barbezat, 1829. 8o. Original publisher’s
grey printed paper wrappers.
€ 1,000
First edition in French of an important botanical study by
Germany’s greatest poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(1749-1832) into the origins and processes of life. His scientific career had actually started at the court of Weimar,
where he was summoned in 1775, and where his duties
soon included the supervision of mining in the duchy. His
main goal was finding a theory to explain all living forms,
plants and animals. The Urpflanze, as an Urform of nature,
would show–according to Goethe–the diversity of types
which had evolved and would help chart the processes of
life. His ideas on plant form had a considerable influence
on European botany, and some people even considered
them a precursor of Darwinism. The present work is a
fascinating exercise in probing the “mind of nature” via
a study of its phenomena, in this case plant life. As such,
it is thoroughly representative of the school of Nature
Philosophy. The work was first published in German in
1790, and was translated for this edition into French by
Frédéric de Cingins-Lassaraz.
Very good, untrimmed copy, slightly foxed, and somewhat
dog-eared, small tear in front wrapper. Attractive copy of
a study on the philosophy of botany by Johann Wolfgang
von Goethe.
Pritzel 3452; cf. DSB V, pp. 442-446; Norman Library 913 (first German ed.);
Stiftung für Botanik 293 (first German ed.).
21
Manual of Dutch country life in eighteenth century
19. GROEN, Jan van der, and Pieter N I J L A N D. Den Nederlantschen
hovenier,… beschrijvende alderhande prinçelijke en heerlijke lust-hoven en
hof-steden,...
Including: Den verstandigen hovenier, over de twaelf maenden van ‘t jaer.
Including: De medicyn-winkel, of ervaren huys-houder… als mede den naerstigen byen-houder, ... Noch is hier achter bygevoeght Den Verstandigen Kok.
Amsterdam, Widow of Gijsbert de Groot, 1711-1721. 3 parts in 1 volume. 4o.
With 2 engraved frontispieces, 76 full-page plates, mostly engraved, partly
in woodcut, 11 woodcuts in the text and 3 large engraved illustrations on the
title-pages. Later half mottled calf, paper title label on spine.
€ 1,850
Rare complete edition of one of the very popular encyclopaedic household
books, treating all aspects of life in the country, from laying out gardens,
working in the garden, planting and sowing trees, shrubs, orchards, vegetables and herbs, house-keeping, preparing home-medicine, distilling, fishing,
bee-keeping, cooking, slaughtering, jam-making, etc., for use at the Dutch
country-estates and mansions.
First published around the middle of the seventeenth-century, the first part,
by Jan van der Groen (1624-1671), the gardener of the House of Orange,
covers the planning and creating of gardens, with hundreds of models
for garden-plans, labyrinths, garden-architecture, etc. The well-known
Amsterdam physician and pharmacist Pieter Nijlandt wrote the other parts,
the second describing work in the gardens for each month, the whole year
round, including herb- and kitchen-gardening, and work in the orchards and
vineyards; the third describing the preparation and use of home medicines
for both men and beasts, distilling, bee-keeping, and includes a popular
cookery book, with advice about when and how to slaughter animals and
how to make preserves.
With the bookplate of Bob Luza. With a few occasional stains. Spine slightly
rubbed. Very good copy of this popular encyclopaedic household book.
Springer pp. 28-29; cf. Berlin Kat. 3391-3392 (German and French eds. of the first part by Groen only); cf.
Waller 844-845 .
22
The illustrator’s copy of an extensive work on radiolaria, with 87 (chromo-)lithographed plates
20. H A ECK ER , Valentin. Tiefsee-Radiolarien.
Jena, Gustav Fischer (colophon: Frommansche Buchdruckerei Hermann Pohle), 1908. 2 volumes plus supplement. Royal 4o (32 × 26 cm. With 87
numbered (mostly chromo-)lithographed plates after drawings by Marian Hedwig Mülberger and Valentin Haecker (first 31 plates lithographed
by Frankfurt & Winter in Frankfurt, the rest by A. Giltsch in Jena), 2 chromolithographed maps and numerous illustrations in text. Original
publisher’s half red cloth, printed sides, red cloth dust jacket. Supplement disbound.
€ 2,500
First and only edition of a rare and
extensively illustrated work on radiolaria,
a large group of amoeboid protozoa that
produce intricate exo-skeletons. The book
is based on research from the Valdivia
expedition, a German scientific expedition that explored the deep sea in the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans in 1898 and
1899. In 1902 Valentin Haecker took over
the research from Carl Chun, who led
the expedition and collected the various
specimens.
It was published as the 14th volume
of the Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der
deutschen Tiefsee-Expedition auf dem
Dampfer “Valdivia”, 1898-1899, and
includes the general plate and text
volumes, the latter called “Spezieller
Teil”, and a separate “Algemeiner Teil”,
paginated as a supplement and apparently issued later. Each volume notes on
the binding that the works was not sold
in bookstores (“nicht im Buchhandel”).
The present copy belonged to the illustrator of the work, Marian Hedwig
Mülberger, who also illustrated several
other scientific works. It is a sophisticated
copy, made up from the copy presented
by the author to Mülberger and a copy
presented to Professor Karl Bürker
that also came in to her possession: the
endpapers of the text volume come from
the Bürker copy, with the presentation
inscription to him, and the supplement
probably comes from that copy as well.
Also pasted on the endleaf is a typewritten presentation note (“Habent sua fata
libelli”) signed by Mülberger and dated
from Giessen, 21 June 1960, presenting
the copy to Dr. Wulf Emmo Ankel in
Giessen and explaining the history of the
present copy.
Binding slightly rubbed near the edges
and spine faded. A very good copy of a
rare work on radiolaria.
BMC NH, Supplement, p. 423; Nissen, ZBI 1789.
23
Flower watercolour with moths, larvae and pupae,
by the daughter of Maria Sibylla Merian
21. H EROLT, Johanna Helena. [Watercolour of a wallflower and a
double hyacinth, with inchworm moths, larvae and pupae].
[Amsterdam, ca. 1700]. Watercolour drawing (38 × 29 cm) on extremely
fine white parchment, said to be uterine lamb, showing a wallflower
and a double hyacinth with two inchworm moths in the air (2 different
species) and two inchworms and two pupae on the leaves and flowers.
Framed.
€ 79,500
Characteristic original watercolour botanical drawing by Johanna
Helena Herolt (1668-post 1721), the eldest daughter of Maria Sibylla
Merian and Johann Andreas Graff. It shows a wallflower (Cheiranthus
cheiri) and double hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) with two inchworm
moths (Geometriae) in the air, two inchworms and two pupae. She
probably drew it in Amsterdam around 1700. Though she still remains in
the shadow of her mother, she was a fine flower and insect artist in her
own right and there is growing appreciation of her work. Her watercolours, more baroque than her mother’s and often with brighter colours,
radiate vigour and vivacity: the flowers, painted with intensity in every
detail, really come to life.
Reitsma, p. 135, notes that the prices for the flower watercolours
increased with the number of insects, so the present watercolour must
have been unusually expensive. Most of Herolt’s work is numbered and
the present watercolour is numbered “145”[?] on the back. The published
catalogues rarely note the numbers, but we understand the highest
number known is 164.
Characteristic watercolour in fine state of preservation, with certificate
of authenticity from Dr. S. Segal, Amsterdam. Herolt herself may have
revised the upper part of the hyacinth.
Reitsma, Maria Sibylla Merian & dochters, ill. 110 (p. 147; a nearly identical drawing of the same
wallflower specimen with 1 butterfly); Wettengl, Maria Sibylla Merian 1647-1717, kunstenares en
natuuronderzoekster, no. 120 (ill. 44 on p. 85; a similar watercolour including the same wallflower
specimen, with no insects).
24
Long and varied Dutch poem celebrating life on the country house
Moffenschans and hinting at the upcoming tulip craze
22. HON DI US , Petrus. Dapes inemptae, of de Moufe-schans, dat is, de
soeticheydt des buyten-levens, vergheselschapt met de boucken. Afgedeelt in X
gangen. Nieuwe editie.
Leiden, Daniel Roels (colophon: printed by Joris Abrahamsz van der Marsce), 1621.
8o. With woodcut view of a country-house on title-page. Contemporary overlapping
vellum, modern endpapers.
€ 3,850
Much expanded second, and the first
authorized, edition of a long Dutch poem
celebrating life on the country house
Moffenschans (literally “Trenches of the
Krauts”). It’s the second known Dutch
poem in the genre known as “hofdicht”
(country house poetry) and particularly
interesting because of its autobiographical
character. The author, Pertus Hondius,
appears to be a permanent guest in the
house owned by Terneuzen’s mayor Johan
Serlippens, as he had brought his own
library and helped shaping the renowned
garden. The poem is divided into ten
parts: staring with a comparison between
city and country, followed by descriptions
of the country house, the flower-garden, the kitchen-garden and the garden
of medical herbs, a chapter on dining
and cookery and four parts on different
exercises and activities.
Hondius is known for growing tulips
and his enthusiasm is reflected in verses
celebrating their beauty. He even hints at
the upcoming tulip craze: “All these fools
want is tulip bulbs | Heads and hearts
have but one wish | Let’s try and eat them;
it will make us laugh | to taste how bitter
is that dish” (translation by Dash).
After Terneuzen was liberated from the
Spaniards in 1583 by Maurice of Nassau,
he had his German brother in law, Philips
van Hohenlohe, built fortifications around
the city, including an entrenchment just
outside the city walls, which became known
as the Moffenschans (literally “Trenches of
the Krauts”). After the German troops had
left, the ground was bought by Terneuzen’s
mayor Serlippens, who built a country house
and garden, maintaining its original name.
Title-page slightly soiled and a few spots
and minor wormholes. Four of five sewing
supports broken and the bookblock almost
completely separated from the binding
between the first and second leaf. Still a
very good copy.
J.G. Frederiks, “Petrus Hondius”, in: TNTL VI (1886), pp.
103-159; Simoni H-168; Waller 826; cf. Dash, Tulipomania
(1999).
25
Italian edition of Martens’s important account of a whaling voyage
23. M A RT ENS , Friedrich. Viaggio di Spizberga o’ Gronlanda fatto da Federico
Martens Amburghese l’ anno 1671...
Bologna, Giacomo Monti, 1680. 12o. With 2 folding engraved plates and 3 woodcut
illustrations.Contemporary limp parchment.
€ 6,500
Rare Italian edition of Martens’ account of a whaling voyage to Spitsbergen and
Greenland which “furnishes the first exact description of Arctic Zoology” (Wood).
In relation to Cetology this work is “one of great interest and importance, not only
from its early date, but for the good account it gives of the Greenland Right Whale
and the Whale fishery” (Allen). Friedrich Martens (1635-1699) sailed as ship’s surgeon
on the whaler Jonas im Walfisch. His account includes comments on locating whales,
the best place to shoot a whale and the best fat to harvest, as well as noteworthy and
early descriptions of arctic wildlife. The folding plates show birds and plants, a whale
hunting scene and a ship trapped in ice. The woodcuts includes two illustration of
whales.
Some waterstains, browned, binding slightly soiled, otherwise in very good condition.
Jenkins, Bibl. of Whaling, p. 125; Nissen, ZBI, 2706; Sabin 44838; cf. Allen, Cetacea, 107 and 210 (note); Wood, p. 452.
26
On the formation of minerals in
Dalsland, Sweden
24. N I LSSON, Sven and Sveno HARDIN.
Formatio schisti chloritici in Dalia, quam respectu
præsertim vegetationis breviter adumbravit.
Lund, Berling, 1838. 4o. Wholly uncut, with deckles
intact. Bound as sewn.
€ 275
Dissertation on the formation of minerals from
the chlorite group in Dalsland, one of the traditional provinces in the south of Sweden, with
short descriptions of the vegetation. To a large
extent supervised by Sven Nilsson (1787-1883), a
well-known professor of Natural history at Lund
University.
Very good copy.
Krok, Nilsson 6; not in Cat. Linnean Soc.
27
Account of an interesting scientific expedition to Bolivia
25. OR BIGN Y, Alcide d’. Fragment d’un voyage au centre de l’Amérique Méridionale; contenant des considérations sur la navigation de
l’Amazone et de la Plata, et sur les anciennes missions des provinces de Chiquitos et de Moxos (Bolivia).
Paris, P. Bertrand; Strasbourg, widow Levrault (printed by Berger-Levrault), 1845. 8o. With a large folding lithographed map (43 × 52 cm) of the
centre of South America. Modern half red morocco.
€ 6,750
First edition in this form of a detailed
account of an important series of scientific expeditions in central South
America, mostly in the Bolivian provinces
of Chiquitos and Moxos, by Alcide
d’Orbigny (1802-1857). He organized
expeditions in South America carried
out in the years 1826 to 1833 under the
auspices of the French Museum of
Natural History. He covered Brazil,
Uruguay, Paraná, the pampas of
Argentina, Patagonia, Chili, Bolivia
and Peru, publishing the results in
three volumes: Voyage dans l’Amerique
Meridional, Strasbourg and Paris, 18351845. The present single volume, by the
same publisher together with a different
Paris collaborator, is extracted from the
larger work. The folding map, covering
Bolivia and surroundings, includes an
inset map showing its location within
South America.
Somewhat browned and the map with
one large and some small tears along folds
(some small ones repaired with tape).
Good copy.
Borba de Moraes, p. 632; Palau 202177; Sabin 57454; not
in Numa Broc.
28
Rare comprehensive herbal
26. PAU LLI, Simon. Quadripartitum botanicum de
simplicum medicamentorum facultatibus... additis Dosibus
purgantium ...
Strasbourg, S. Paulli, 1667-1668. 2 parts in 1 volume. 4o. With
first title-page and half-title printed in red and black, full-page
engraved allegorical frontispiece and 7 full-page engraved plates.
Contemporary vellum, manuscript title on spine.
€ 1,500
Second, enlarged edition of Paulli’s major botanical work. Simon
Paulli (1603-1680) worked as a physician in Rostock and Lübeck,
before being appointed professor of anatomy, surgery and botany
at the University of Copenhagen and court physician to the
Danish king. Von Haller praised him for not only compiling
existing botanical knowledge but also for comparing it with
information derived from his own experiments. Paulli divides
the plants into four seasons, beginning with the winter, arranges
them in alphabetical order, and gives of each plant the Latin,
German and Danish name, followed by a description and
medical application.
With the bookplate of horticulturist Hjalmar Hartmann (18701945) on pastedown, owner’s entry of Louis Bobé (Schleswig
1893) on first endleaf; some browning, corrosion spots, staining,
faint marginal waterstaining, underscoring. Despite these
defects, a well-preserved copy of this rare work, with the very
rare Continuatio.
Arnold Arboretum, p. 543; BMC NH, p. 1531; Krivatsy 8684; Pritzel 6992; for Paulli:
DSB X, pp. 426-427.
29
Standard work on Dutch bird eggs,
in the English edition limited to 100 copies
27. PELT LECH N ER , Arnold Anthon van. Oologia
Neerlandica[.] Eggs of birds breeding in the Netherlands.
The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff, 1910-1913 [1914]. 2 volumes.
Large 8o (25 × 20 cm). With 191 plates containing 667 illustrations of bird-eggs, namely 50 collotypes and 617 four-colour
process engravings, after specimens in the author’s collection.
The illustrations mounted on thin card and the text printed on
laid paper watermarked: Van Gelder Zonen. Contemporary
morocco, gold-blocked spine.
€ 1,950
The comprehensive account of Dutch bird eggs, giving brief
introductions to the different species and extensive data relating
to the eggs and breeding habits. It is the first Dutch work on
eggs and still considered the standard work on the subject by
Balis in 1968.
Zimmer also praises the work because of its “unusual merits ...
This study embraces the texture, composition and pigmentation of the shell, the dietary and other causes for variation or
peculiarity in ground-color or markings, and similar topics not
usually discussed in oological handbooks”.
It was originally published in 7 parts from 1911 to 1914 in both
English and Dutch, with 100 copies of the English edition and
150 of the Dutch.
In fine condition.
Anker 390; Nissen, IVB 709; Zimmer, pp. 651-652; cf. Balis, Van diverse pluimage 134
(Dutch edition).
30
French manual for beginning and
advanced gardeners
28. P OI NSOT, Pierre Georges. l’Ami des jardiniers, ou
instruction methodique a la portée des amateurs et des jardiniers
de profession, sur tout ce qui concerne les jardins fruitiers et
potagers, parcs, jardins anglais, parterres, orangeries, et serreschaudes.
Paris, Levrault Schoell et Cie, 1804[-1805]. 2 volumes. 8o. With
engraved frontispiece, 6 full-page and 15 folding engraved plates,
showing among other things, garden utensils, grafting, different
shapes of trees, trelliswork, garden layouts and constructions for
hothouses and orangeries. Contemporary half calf, yellow paper
sides, brown morocco spine labels, green edges.
€ 1,750
Second and last edition of a horticultural manual, first published
in 1803 with the subtitle, Méthode sure et facile, pour apprendre à
cultivar ... In the preface, Poinsot explains that he wanted to write
a book on horticulture that would be of interest to both beginning
and professional gardeners and that would cover all sorts of plants,
gardens and terrains. Accordingly, the work can be divided into
six sections, each preceded by a full-page engraving, which deal
successively with the fruit garden, vegetable garden, English, that
is a landscape garden, flower garden, orangeries, and trees that are
suitable for greenhouses. With the exception of the flower garden,
Poinsot opens each section with a general introduction, before
giving an alphabetical list of fruit trees, vegetables, trees, flowers,
and other plants which may be planted in the different gardens. He
gives much practical information on each species.
According to Quérard, the author, l’abbé Pierre Georges Poinsot,
was a member of the Agricultural Society of Lausanne.
Bradley III, p. 112; Quérard VII, p. 237; not in Arnold Arboretum; BMC NH; Brunet; Cat.
Lindley Libr.; Cat. Linnean Soc.; Pritzel.
31
On similarity between plants, animals and man
29. P ORTA , Giambattista della. Phytognomonica … Octo
libris contenta; in quibus nova, facillimaque affertur methodus, qua
plantarum, animalium, metallorum; rerum denique omnium ex prima
extimae faciei inspectione quivis abditas vires assequatur.
Frankfurt, Johann Wechel and Peter Fischer, 1591. 8o. With title-page
printed in red and black, woodcut printer’s device, woodcut author’s
portrait on the back of the title-page and 32 woodcuts in text illustrating plants and their similarity to the various parts of the body. Later
vellum.
€ 1,250
Second edition of Porta’s work on the doctrine of signatures and it
is sometimes held that he was the real originator of this doctrine.
Giambattista della Porta (1535-1615) believed that the external form of
man indicates his internal qualities. Expanding this theory to plants,
he maintained that the external form of plants reveals their internal
healing powers. The plants that resemble particular parts of the body
should be considered as suitable medication for illnesses in those particular body parts. “The back view of a human head with a thick crop
of hair is introduced into the block with the Maidenhair Fern, which is
an ancient specific for baldness; a Pomegranate with its seeds exposed,
and a plant of “Toothwort,” with its hard, white scale-leaves, are represented in the same figure as a set of human teeth” (Arber, p. 209).
Porta also discusses the resemblance of plants and animal parts. A
study of the character of the animal would provide clues to the medical
qualities of the resembling plant. Phytognomonica was first published in
Naples in 1588.
In very good condition.
Arber, pp. 208-210; BMC NH, p. 1598; Nissen, BBI 463; VD 16, P4331; Wood, p. 522; DSB XI,
pp. 95-98; cf. Hunter 158 (first ed).
32
Original watercolour of a Strange-tailed
Tyrant, for Temminck’s monumental
ornithological work
30. PR Ê T R E , Jean Gabriel. [Gobe-mouche yetapa,
femelle (= plate 296 from Temminck’s Nouveau recueil
de planches coloriées d’oiseaux ...)].
[France], 1824. Watercolour of a bird on unwatermarked wove paper (ca. 48 × 34.5 cm), standing on a
branch signed: “JG Prêtre/ 1824”. With plate number
and bird name in pencil in lower left corner.
€ 1,750
Original watercolour of a Strange-tailed Tyrant
(Alectrurus risora) by the prolific zoological artist Jean
Gabriel Prêtre, produced for Temminck’s Nouveau
recueil de planches coloriées d’oiseaux... (Paris, 1820-1839).
The Strange-tailed Tyrant is a passerine bird of the
tyrant flycatcher family found in found Argentina,
Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Temminck’s lavishly illustrated Nouveau recueil de
planches coloriées d’oiseaux... issued in 102 parts between
1820-1839, was published as a kind of continuation to
Buffon’s Histoire naturelle des oiseaux (1770-1786). In
total it contains ca. 600 engraved plates with about
800 figures of birds by Nicolas Huet and Prêtre, and
it’s considered “the most monumental work of the
post-Napoleonic period” (Balis).
Paper slightly browned and sides reinforced. A
beautiful watercolour of a Strange-tailed Tyrant.
For the published work see: Anker 502; Balis, Van diverse pluimage 75;
Nissen, IVB 932; Zimmer, pp. 626-628.
33
Botany & natural history of the West Carpathian mountains
31. ROCH EL , Anton.
Naturhistorische Miscellen über den
nordwestlichen Karpath in OberUngarn.
Pest, Johann Thom. von Trattner [in
Vienna] for the author, 1821. 8o. With
a large folding engraved map. Nearly
contemporary marbled boards. € 950
First and only edition, printed in
Vienna for the author in Pest (now
part of Budapest), of a detailed account
of the natural history of the West
Carpathian mountains, now mostly in
Slovakia. Rochel (1770-1847), originally
a surgeon and obstetrician in Moravia,
was made a member of the botanical
societies of Regensburg and Marktbreit
in Germany, and in 1820 was appointed
curator of the botanical garden at
Pest. His book is therefore especially
valuable for its descriptions of plants,
which occupy nearly half the book. In
very good condition, with only some
foxing (mostly marginal). Binding
slightly worn at the edges.
Stafleu & Cowan 9318; not in BMC NH;
Engelmann.
34
Four works on Spanish, Portuguese and
Brazilian plants published together
32. RÖM ER , Johann Jakob. Scriptores de plantis Hispanicis,
Lusitanicis, Brasiliensibus, adornavit et recudi curavit.
Nuremberg, Raspe, 1796. 4 parts in 1 volume. 8o. With engraved
title-page by G. Vogel and 8 engraved folding plates showing
plants (numbered I-VII and IIb), including 3 engraved by G. Vogel,
Nuremberg. Contemporary half brown sheepskin, marbled-paper
sides.
€ 2,750
Collection of four works on Spanish, Portuguese and Brazilian
plants, compiled by the Swiss botanist Johann Jakob Römer (17631819). In his introduction he states that he wants to introduce these
little-known books to European botanists.
The first work to be reprinted is Ignacio J. de Asso y del Rio’s
Enumeratio stirpium in Aragonia noviter detectarum (1784), giving
a description of newly discovered plants found in Aragon. It is
followed by three works from the Italian physician and botanist
Domingo Vandelli (1735-1816): Dissertatio de arbore draconis seu
Dracaena (1768), on the dragon tree, Draceana; Fasciculus plantarum
cum novis generibus, et speciebus (1771), a description of newly discovered plants; and Florae lusitanicae et brasiliensis specimen ... et epistolae
ab eruditis viris Carolo à Linné Antonio de Haen ad Dominicum
Vandelli scriptae (1788), containing a description of Portuguese and
Brazilian plants and several letters by Linnaeus to Vandelli (dating
from 1759-1779), concerning the description of Portuguese flora.
Some occasional foxing, primarily in the first few leaves. Binding
rubbed. Good copy with plates in fresh impression.
Arnold Arboretum, p. 604; BMC NH, p. 1720; Pritzel 7709; Sabin 72597; Stafleu & Cowan
9403; not in Borba de Moraes; Bosch.
35
Experiments with snails, with 9 hand-coloured plates
33. SCH A EF F ER , Jacob Christian. Erstere und fernere Versuche
mit Schnecken, nebst einem Nachtrage. Zwote Auflage. Wobey sieben
ausgemahlte Kupfertafeln.
Regensburg, Johann Christoph Keyser, 1770. With 7 hand-coloured
engraved plates by Johann Gottlieb Fridrich and J.M. Fridrich after
Stefan Loibel.
With: (2) SCH A EF F ER , Johann Christian. Nachtrag zu den
erstern und fernern Versuchen mit Schnecken. Nebst zwo ausgemahlten
Kupfertafeln.
Regensburg, Johann Christian Keyser, 1770. With 2 hand-coloured
engraved platesl by Johann Gottlieb Fridrich and J.M. Fridrich after
Stefan Loibel. 2 volumes bound as 1. 4o. 19th-century boards.
€ 1,950
Ad 1: Second edition, with a supplement, adding 2 plates to the 5 of the
first edition, of an interesting work detailing several experiments with
snails. The author tried to prove that the heads of snails grow again after
decapitation.
Ad 2: A more extensive supplement, adding 2 more plates to the 7 in the
second edition of main work. It was apparently designed to be issued
both with the first edition and the second edition, for its supplement
repeats the 11-page supplement in the second edition line for line, but
now with separate series of page numbers and quire signatures. The
2 plates do not repeat any in the main work, however, and the 2-page
explanation of the plates has been revised, so that the present copy
contains both versions.
Jacob Christian Schaeffer (1718-1790) was a German botanist, zoologist,
theologian and author of numerous works on natural history.
With a ca. 1900 bookplate. With an occasional minor spot or marginal
stain, but otherwise in very good condition. Binding rubbed and
backstrip slightly damaged. A well-illustrated study of snails.
Nissen, ZBI 3639.
36
A newly discovered lizard and a strange plant-animal, both with a coloured illustration
34. SCH LOSSER , Johann Albert.
Epistola ad virum expertissimum,
peritissimumque Ferdinandum Dejean,
… de Lacerta Amboinensi, novae plane
hujus speciei, pulcherrimae et hucusque
fere incognitae, accuratam descriptionem
ac fidelem a peritis artificibus elaboratam
delineationem aeri incisam, sistens.
– Brief … Behelzende eene naauwkeurige
beschrijving der Amboinsche haagdis.
Benevens eene zeer wel-gelijkende afbeelding
deezer vostrekt-nieuwe, fraaije en tot heden toe
genoegzaam onbekende soort, door bekwaame
kunstenaars vervaardigd.
Amsterdam, for the author, 1768. With a
beautiful large hand-coloured engraved folding
plate (28.5 × 49.5 cm) of an Ambonese lizard by
Simon Fokke after Gerrit Dadelbeek.
With: (2) BOLT EN, Joachim Frederick .
Ad illustrem sytematis naturae authorem Carolum a Linné … epistola de novo quodam zoophytorum genere.–Uitvoerige beschryving en naauwkeurige natuurlyk gekleurde afbeelding van een nieuwelyks ontdekt geheel onbekend plant-dier. Uit het Hoogduitsch vertaald.
Amsterdam, Jan Christiaan Sepp, 1771. With a large folding engraved plate (43 × 27.3 cm), hand-coloured and printed in gold, by Franz Nikolaus
Rolffsen after H. Fischer. 2 works in 1 volume. Royal 4o (29 × 24 cm). Contemporary calf.
€ 4,500
Ad 1: First and only edition of a rare treatise
on an Ambonese lizard, with text in Dutch
and Latin on facing pages. The treatise is
in the form of a letter to Ferdinand Dejean
who had brought the lizard to Amsterdam to
present it to Schlosser, the owner of a wellknown Wunderkammer. Schlosser argues that
the newly found animal is neither an iguana,
nor a basilisk but belongs to a previously
unknown species. Including a beautiful handcoloured illustration of the lizard.
Ad 2: With the very rare first and only Dutch
and Latin edition of a treatise describing a
peculiar newly discovered plant-animal, by
Joachim Frederick Bolten (1718-1796). It was
originally published in German and Latin in
1770 as Nachricht von einer neuen Thierpflanze.
In very good condition.
Ad 1: BMC NH, p. 1153; Nissen, ZBI 3689; STCN (9 copies); ad
2: Nissen, ZBI 458; STCN (3 copies); not in BMC NH.
37
One of the earliest depictions of a Great White Shark
35. [SH A R K ]. Disser Fisch nenet sich Carmius Carcarius, oder Mehr Chamel und hat selbiger bäy seinem Erfang 3224 [Pfund] Täytsch
Gewicht gewogen; und ist solcher von 20. Schuch lang und .9. bräyt, welcher in dem Mittelländischen Mehr gefangen worden ist, A: 1758.
[Nürnberg?, ca. 1760]. 40 × 50 cm. Engraved print (plate size 29 × 44.5 cm; image 24 × 43.5 cm). In a passe-partout.
€ 2,500
Extremely rare engraving of a shark caught in the
Mediterranean Sea in 1758. According to the engraved
text, it was 20 feet long, nine feet wide (including its
fins) and weighed 3224 pounds. This would make it an
extraordinarily, though not impossibly large specimen.
Various parts of the shark are numbered 1-8, referring
to notes in the caption.
This image, one of the earliest depictions of the Great
White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias), was copied as
one of 5 figures in plate XI of volume III (Nürnberg,
1774) of Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller’s German
edition of Linnaeus’s Systema naturae. According to
Müller (1725-1776), the shark had attacked a sailor
who had fallen into the water. The ship’s captain fired
a canon shot at the shark, who let go of the sailor
and was subsequently harpooned. After being dried
in the air, the shark was given by the captain to the
sailors, who exhibited it in Erlangen and Nürnberg.
There it was seen by Müller whose story was reproduced in numerous Bible commentaries in relation to
the fish that had swallowed the prophet Jonah. We
have located only one other copy (also damaged and
repaired), at the British Museum in London.
Washed and with some tears (and holes in the background and margins) expertly and unobtrusively
repaired and restored, but otherwise in good condition.
A rare print of a Great White Shark.
www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online; for the story of the shark depicted, with an illustration copied from the present print: Linnaeus-Müller, Natursystem III (1774), pp. 268-270 & plate XI;
not in Faust Collection Bavarian State Library.
38
First monograph on the hamster
36. SU LZER , Friedrich Gabriel. Versuch einer
Naturgeschichte des Hamsters.
Göttingen and Gotha, Johann Christian Dieterich, 1774.
8o. With a hand-coloured engraved vignette of a hamster
on title-page, and 5 engraved folding plates, one of which
finely coloured by hand. Contemporary brown paste
paper over boards, red sprinkled edges.
€ 700
First edition of an extensive description of the hamster
by the German naturalist Friedrich Gabriel Sulzer (17461830), dealing with the inner and outer anatomy (both
are accompanied by a table with measures), way of life,
habitats, hibernation, and price of hamsters.
The plates are bound in at the end and depict different
aspects of the anatomy and one hand-coloured illustration of a hamster. A modern edition was published in
1949, on occasion of its 175th anniversary and the demand
by hamster fanciers.
With an ownerships inscription and library stamp on
first endleaf. Binding slightly rubbed and text with some
occasional spots. Good copy.
BMC NH, p. 2048; Nissen, ZBI 4039.
39
Extremely rare series, with 87 fine hand-coloured ornithological plates
37. SWAGER S , Edouard. Collection complète des oiseaux d’Europe, dessinés et coloriés d’après nature.
Amiens, printed by R. Machart, 183[3]. 4o. With 87 fine hand-coloured lithographed plates, and 11 descriptive letterpress double-leaves. Loose as
issued, with original publisher’s letterpress printed wrappers for 1 fascicle loosely inserted, front and back with a decorative border built up from
fleurons, the front with a woodcut vignette of a bird, and the number of the fascicle (“4me”), the month (“Avril”) and last digit in the date (“3”) added
in manuscript. The back wrapper with a lengthy note on the publication, and the name of the printer. In modern clam-shell box.
€ 15,000
Extremely rare and unfinished series of fine ornithological plates, lithographed by A. Leprince after Edouard Swagers and published in fascicles.
As stated on the wrappers, the work was intended to reach no fewer than
50 fascicles, each with 8 plates, of which only a limited number was actually
issued. The bibliographer Quérard believed that only the first 4 parts were
published, with a total of 32 plates and 12 letterpress leaves, as did both
Nissen and Ronsil. As is evident from the Bradley Martin copy, however,
at least 12 fascicles with a total of 96 plates were issued. Though the Martin
copy lacked the wrappers, it was probably the most complete copy extant,
and, in fact, the only copy to have come on the market in the last decades
(auctioned in 1989 and again in 1990).
Our copy includes the wrappers of one fascicle, containing the title and
an extensive description of the project, and 11 fascicles, each with a letterpress double-leaf and a total of 87 plates (lacking the “Chouette effraie”).
The birds are arranged by diet, showing birds of prey (42), omnivores (17)
and insectivores (28). They were drawn from specimens in the collection of
Delahaye, curator of the library of Amiens.
Little is known about Swagers. On the back wrapper he styles himself
“professeur de dessin, à Amiens” and mentions that he will shortly also
publish a series of plates of exotic birds, drawn from specimens in the
Cabinet d’histoire naturelle, Paris. Apparently this project was never
realised.
Some spotting, wrappers tattered, otherwise in very good condition.
Bradley Martin sale, item 1899; Fine Bird Books 110 (misinterpreting Nissen and stating that 400 plates
were issued); Nissen, IVB 910 (32 plates only); Nissen, SVB 488 (idem); Quérard, La france littéraire, vol.
9, p. 299; Ronsil 2851 (32 plates only); WorldCat (2 copies); not in Ayer; Wood.
40
Descriptions and illustrations of eels
38. T H U N BERG, Carl Peter and Jonas Niclas
A H L . Specimen ichthyologicum de Muraena et
Ophichtho, ... in audit. Horti Botanici, d. 27 Jun.
1789. ...
Uppsala, Johan Edman, [1789]. 4o. With Jonas Niclas
Ahl’s name in woodcut on title-page and 2 engraved
plates by Ahl, showing 4 different species of Muraena.
Further with woodcut headpieces and a tailpiece, and
open roman titling capitals. Disbound.
€ 750
First edition of a dissertation on Muraena, a genus
of large eels, and Ophichthus, a genus of snake eels,
written by Jonas Niclas Ahl (1765-1817) with the
prolific Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg
(1743-1828) as “praeses” (advisor). It contains detailed
descriptions of 5 species of Muraena and 6 species
of Ophichthus, with some general notes on the
genera. Most of the species described are found in
the Mediterranean or India. Although the imprint
includes no date, the dissertation was defended on
27 June 1789. A second edition was published in
Thunberg’s Dissertationes Academicae Upsaliae, vol.
III, no. 1. (1801).
Plates a bit browned and a small corner torn off
page 7/8, not approaching the text. One bifolium has
come loose due to the removal of the sewing when
the book was disbound. Good copy.
BMC NH, p. 20; Cat. Linnean Soc., p. 761; Dean I, p. 14; not in Krok.
41
Comprehensive study of Rosaceae
39. T R AT T I N N ICK , Leopold. Rosacearum
monographia.
Vienna, J.G. Heubner, 1823-1824. 4 volumes. 8o. Each
volume with the prelinary leaves sewn as a quire or quires
(with numbered pages) but never bound, and with the
main text on loose (numbered) leaves, each volume in a
contemporary folding case covered in charming decorated
paper (block-printed with 2 colours of paste), kept in a
slipcase covered with green paper and with two morocco
labels (red and green) with the title and volume number.
The slipcases of volumes 1 and 2 are olive, while those
of 3 and 4 are light green and their folding cases use a
different decorated paper.
€ 975
First and only edition of a comprehensive work on
Rosaceae by the Austrain botanist Leopold Trattinnick
(1764-1849). It was originally published as the first four
volumes in a series intended to give an overview of the
entire plant kingdom with the title Synodus botanica,
but it “was relinquished for lack of sufficient subscribers and he [Heubner] confined himself to the issue of a
monograph of Rosaceae in 4 vols.” (Stock). The first two
volumes give detailed taxonomic descriptions of species
from the genus Rosa, and the following two cover various
genera including: Dalibarda, Geum, Potentilla, Rubus and
Waldsteinia.
A very attractive copy.
Arnold Arboretum, p. 697; Pritzel 9448; Stafleu & Cowan 14887; Stock 3004.
42
Beautiful watercolour of a South-African Orbea variegata,
likely from Bentinck’s collection of drawings
40. VOE T, Carel Borchaert. Apocynum Humile Aizoides siliquis erectis
Africanum.
[Netherlands?, end of the 17th-century?]. Ink, pencil and watercolour on
laid paper (42 × 27 cm.), with a manuscript title on top and signed by the
artist at the lower right: "C: B: Voet". In passepartout.
€ 3,500
Beautiful watercolour of the South-African carrion flower, Orbea
variegata, by the notable Dutch flower painter Carel Borchaert Voet (16701744), who served Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, from 1689
to 1702 "as flower painter and tutor of this art for his household. … Voet
drew plants as well, 12 of his drawings are preserved in Amsterdam in the
Artis-library. It is not known when and where Voet did these drawings,
but from the species shown it is probable that they are from an important
garden" (Hunt & De Jong). At least the depicted one in Hunt & De Jong
looks similar in execution and lettering of the title and appears to be of the
same series.
Bentinck, a great connoisseur of garden art and head steward of the
gardens of William III, is known to have introduced the flower in Great
Britain in 1690, most likely imported from his famous garden at Zorgvliet
in the Netherlands. There are some early references to a collection of
drawings of his exotic plants known as the Codex Bentingiana, now lost,
and it is quite possible that the present drawing is from the said collection.
The title and composition make the drawing at least appear as intended for
publication.
Some faint spots on the paper, a crease at the lower right and a tiny hole at
the lower left. The number "19" is written in pencil next to the signature. In
very good condition.
Cf. Hunt & De Jong, The Anglo-Dutch Garden 153 & p. 77.
43
Previously published and
available free on request
please contact us at:
[email protected]