Nozeman, Cornelius, and others

Nederlandsche Vogelen. Amsterdam: Jan Christiaan Sepp, 1770-1829



5 volumes, folio (20 ½ x 14 ¼ in.; 520 x 362 mm). 250 hand-colored plates (2 double-page), after and by Christiaan Sepp and son, N. Muis, and W. Hendriks, 5 hand-colored engraved titles in addition to the letterpress titles; some marginal finger-soiling and very occasional marginal spotting, a few contemporary manuscript notes in pencil. Nineteenth-century mottled half calf and marbled boards, spines gilt, gold-stamped title labels on spines; covers rubbed, head and feet of spines chipped, a few corners bumped and repaired.

Ayer/Zimmer 469; Copenhagen/Anker 369; Cottrell 16; Fine Bird Books 98; McGill/Wood 496; Nissen IVB 648

First edition, first comprehensive account of the avifauna of the Netherlands.

The work was begun by Nozeman, a pastor with a cabinet of natural history specimens, who died in 1789. The project was taken up by Dr. Martinus Houttuyn who died after the appearance of volume 3. Two subsequent volumes appeared in 1809 and 1829. The text describes the habitat of each specimen in detail, while the plates show each species in its habitat, often with nest and eggs (a few plates are dedicated to the latter).

A beautiful crisp copy.