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Kops, Jan et al. Flora batava, afgebeeld door en van wegens J.C. Sepp en Zoon; beschreven door Jan Kops. ... Amsterdam, J.C. Sepp, etc., 1814, volume 3, part 30-45, pp. [i, engraved title-page], 2 (preface in Dutch), 2 (preface in French), 6 (index), 80 finely hand-coloured engraved plates (no. 161-240) with text-leaves, large 4to, uncut and unpressed (ca. 245 x 295 mm), loose as issued in half roan with marbled boards. Fine condition. € 3.000
The Flora batava, a monumental work forming a beautifully illustrated
survey of all indigenous plants in the Netherlands. It was started in 1800 by
Jan Kops, a Dutch agronomist and professor of botany at Utrecht. The first 10
volumes constitute all that was prepared and issued under his supervision. When
finished at last in 1934, Willem Jan Lütjeharms was the editor for volume 28, in
which he concludes that this work has ended now and that publication took longer
than any comparable foreign flora: De Flora Batava heeft langer geleefd dan een
der met dit werk vergelijkbare buitenlandsche plaatwerken. The long publication
period reflects the change in the technique of its illustrations. Initially
copper-engravings were used, followed by lithographs, all coloured by hand, but
from volume 25 colour-printing was gradually introduced. Also several artists
were involved, but the plates are not signed, nor much information is given
about them. Most plates in the first 3 volumes were illustrated by Georg Jacob
Johann van Os. He was born in 1782 in The Hague and settled in Paris in 1826,
where he worked for the Sèvres porcelain factory and was a painter of flower and
fruit pieces, still lifes, etc. These early, finely engraved plates are
exquisitely coloured by hand. Each plate is accompanied by a text in Dutch and
French. The first publisher, J.C. Sepp en Zoon, was renowned for its scientific
colour-plate books. The work was issued in 8vo and 4to. These plates is in the
most desirable 4to format.* Nissen 2247; Great flower books p. 63; Stafleu & Cowan 3874; Landwehr 60.
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