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While our images are electronically watermarked, the antique prints themselves are not.
Ortolan Bunting, Nest & Eggs NZ25 $695
Each copper engraving measures
approximately 14 1/4 inches wide by 20 1/2 inches.
With great pleasure, not to mention a little
astonishment at our good fortune, we are offering a
superb collection of engravings from an exceedingly rare
and highly prized work, Nozeman’s 'Nederlandsche
Vogelen' 1770-1829
Cornelius Nozeman, (1721-1786) a Dutch minister of
the Remonstrant church and an ornithologist provided the
inspiration for this finest Dutch work on ornithology
and one of the greatest of all time. It was a unique
collaborative effort of two Dutch masters, and a project
of huge scope and ambition, taking over 60 years to
complete. The renowned engraver & artist, Christiaan
Sepp drew the illustrations & Nozeman wrote the text for
the first two volumes.
The first volume was published by Sepp's son, Jan
Christiaan, a bookseller with a strong background in
natural history & engraving. In 1775, Christiaan Sepp
died & Jan Christiaan completed the second volume. In
1786 Nozeman died, with most of the descriptions for the
second volume written (published in 1789). Thus, it was
the first two volumes which were directly created by
these renowned ornithologists, artists & engravers.
Martinus Houttuyn continued the work for the third
volume (published in 1797). Houttuyn died in 1798, and
it was not until 1809 that the fourth volume was
published, without the name of the writer. Interestingly
enough, the whole venture was completed in 1829 by Jan
Sepp, the son of Jan Christiaan with assistance from
Coenraad Jacob Temminck. Thus, three generations of the
illustrious Sepp family were involved in this project of
six decades, a truly remarkable feat.
These super-sized, hand coloured copper plate
engravings, superbly composed and meticulously engraved
and hand colored were an expensive proposition indeed.
Upon the final publication, it was the costliest book
ever published, selling for 525 Dutch Florins in 1829 or
over $6,000 in today’s currency, a great sum at that
time let alone now.
References: Fine Bird Books p. 129; Classic
Natural History Prints p. 20-23.
Also National Library of the Netherlands website
http://www.kb.nl/galerie/100hoogtepunten/068-en.html
Each copper engraving measures approximately 14 1/4
inches wide by 20 1/2 inches & is on strong, soft white,
chain lined paper in almost pristine condition, with
little evidence of the passage of some 236 years. They
have not been cleaned, restored or altered in any way,
so they are exactly as published almost a quarter of a
millennium ago! Neither have they been trimmed, so they
are the full original folio sheet size. There are very
few fox marks and the quality of the hand colouring is
superb, with an exquisite style and beauty utterly
characteristic of this great team of artists, engravers
and printers. Such a superb selection of these prints is
rarely seen, as copies of the work are extremely scarce,
with individual prints fetching as much as $2,400 on the
retail market and a single complete copy of 250
engravings available for $92,000. Thus, it is with great
pleasure that we offer these to our print collectors as
another rare & beautiful treasure which also represents
a superb investment for the future!
We accept credit cards, PayPal, checks, and money
orders. Washington state residents pay Washington state sales tax. Shipping for this item is
$12.95. Items can be combined to save on postage.
Our environment is smoke free. We pack professionally using only new materials. All items are beautifully wrapped and suitable for sending directly as
gifts. You may return any item within 7 days if not satisfied.
To order, you may call us at 1-888-PANTEEK or send an
email to panteek@aol.com
  
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