Lot 27: COMMELIN, JAN (1629-1692) AND CASPAR (1667-1731).

Horti medici amstelodamensis rariorum tam orientalis, quàm occidentalis indiæ, aliarumque peregrinarum plantarum... descriptio et icones ad vivum æri incisæ... opus posthumum, latinitate donatum, notisque & observationibus illustratum, à Frederico Ruyschio... & Francisco Kiggelario. Amsterdam: P. and J. Blaeu, 1697-1701

first edition, 2 volumes, folio (395 x 252mm.), half-titles, additional engraved titles coloured by hand and heightened in gilt, printed titles in Latin (red and black) and Dutch with coloured woodcut printer's devices heightened in gilt, 4 engraved coats of arms coloured by hand and heightened in gilt, 3 dedication leaves, 223 fine engraved plates all finely coloured by a contemporary hand, contemporary red morocco elaborately tooled gilt in the harleian style, gilt edges, without duplicate arms of Huydercoper usually found in vol.2, joints starting

Dunthorne 81; Great Flower Books, p.54; Hunt 399; Nissen BBI 389; Stafleu TL2 1187

a magnificent copy of commelin's beautifully illustrated record of the exotic plants in the amsterdam physic garden, in sumptuous contemporary hand-colour. Such copies are exceedingly rare and unknown at major auctions of the last twenty years. The Botfield copy had later colour, volume 2 of the De Belder copy was also coloured later.

"The first volume, on the plants of the East and West Indies, was Jan Commelin's most important contribution to botanical knowledge; it was brought out posthumously by his nephew Caspar. The second volume was by Caspar Commelin and contained an enlargement on some of the notes in Jan's book, with further notes on African plants" (Hunt).

According to Nissen, some of the engravings are after drawings by Johanna Herolt, daughter of Maria Sybilla Merian.