Abraham Munting | Naauwkeurige Beschryving des Aardgewassen, Leiden, 1696, red morocco gilt

Abraham Munting

Naauwkeurige Beschryving der Aardgewassen. Leiden and Utrecht: Pieter van der Aa and François Halma, 1696

Folio (447 x 281mm.), half-title, additional hand-coloured engraved title-page, title-page printed in red and black with hand-coloured engraved vignette, hand-coloured engraved dedication leaf, hand-coloured engraved headpieces, tailpieces, and initials, hand-coloured woodcut printer's ornaments, 243 hand-coloured engraved plates, contemporary French red morocco gilt, gilt edges, marbled endpapers, extremities slightly bumped, but otherwise a fine copy

An enchanting collection of unusual plant life gathered from the far reaches of the known world; Naauwkeurige Beschryving Der Aardgewassen is a posthumous cornucopia that defied traditional standards of botanical drawings. Classical landscapes and objects are juxtaposed with tropical plants and flowers, often floating above the ground, which had been sent to Munting from the Dutch colonial outposts in the East and West Indies, as well as Africa and the Americas.

With plates "as curious as their subjects" (Hunt).

LITERATURE:

Nissen BBI 1428; STCN 833725696; Hunt 396