D'Amboinsche rariteitkamer, beschryvinge van schaalvisschen, te weete raare krabben, kreeften, en diergelyke zeedieren, als mede allerhande hoorntjes en schulpen die men in d'Amboinsche Zee vindt: daar benevens zommige mineraalen, gesteenten. . by RUMPHIUS, Georg Everhard - 1741

Amsterdam: Jan Roman de Jonge, 1741. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. Folio (393 x 260 mm). [24], 340, [44] pp., including half-title, additional engraved title page (by Jacobus de Later after Jan Goeree), letterpress title printed in red and black and with large engraved vignette, engraved portrait of the blind author (by Jacobus de Later), large engraved head- and tailpieces, woodcut initials, and 60 engraved plates numbered I-LX. Bound in contemporary speckled calf, gilt spine, speckled edges (joints starting, lightly rubbed and with some minor restorations). Text bright and crisp, half-title with vertical crease, occasional minor finger-soiling, very minor occasional spotting. A fine copy. ----

Nissen ZBI 3519; Landwehr VOC 591. SECOND DUTCH EDITION of this magnificient work on marine life of the Moluccas. The beautifully engraved plates display a variety of crustaceans, shells, minerals, gems, corals and fossils found in the waters surrounding Ambon Island. Georg Eberhard Rumpf (1628-1702), nicknamed 'Plinius Indicus', was one of the great tropical naturalists of the seventeenth century. He went in service of the Dutch East-India Company as a merchant on the island of Ambon, sailing off in 1652, and became subprefect later. He started to research the flora and fauna of the island and its surroundings. He became blind in 1670 but was able to continue his studies with the aid of an assistant for ordering his collections and annotations. - Visit our website to see more images!