Linnaeus, C. - Houttuyn, M.
Natuurlyke historie of uitvoerige beschrijving der dieren, planten en mineraalen, volgens het samenstel van den Heer Linnaeus. Met naauwkeurige afbeeldingen. Derde deels, eerste stuk. De versteeningen.
Amsterdam, F. Houttuyn, 1780. 8vo (21.6 x 13.2 cm). Title page with woodcut vignette, xx, 552 pp.; 12 finely engraved plates, originally hand-coloured. Contemporary polished quarter calf over marbled boards. Spine with gilt ornamental bands and red morocco label with gilt title. Edges speckled red.
A complete part - the only one dealing with fossil animals - of the main Dutch natural history encyclopaedia of the 18th century, compiled by the Dutch medical doctor and naturalist Martinus Houttuyn (1720-1798) and often referred to as the "Linnaeus Houttuyn" edition. The plates show fossil shells, fish, corals, etc. The descriptions are very detailed and contains a wealth of incidental information not brought together in this form elsewhere, not even by Linnaeus himself. And unlike most of Linnaeus's works, this one is finely illustrated in colour. Provenance: pictorial bookplate of W. H. van Seters mounted on the front pastedown. Wouter Hendrik van Seters (1891-1976) was a Dutch biologist and comparative anatomist. Binding somewhat rubbed, endpapers toned in corners, text and plates, however, clean. An attractive copy regarding both the binding and contents. Nissen ZBI, 2011; Soulsby, 73.