Notes and news

EXHIBITIONSIN

From 2 April to 18 May 1985, on the occasion of the commemoration of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, the Rijksmuseum Meermanno- Westreenianum/Museum van het Boek held an exhibition on eighteenth-century illustrated books entitled 'French refugees and Dutch book illustrations'. A central place was occupied by the work of Prosper Marchand (1678-1756), the bookdealer who fled from Paris to Holland in 1709. In collaboration with another refugee from Paris, the engraver Bernard Picart (1673-1733) and his pupil Jacob van der Schley (1715-79) Marchand arranged for the illustration of numerous books, providing descriptions of the subject to be illustrated and/or rough sketches on which the engravers could elaborate. Since Marchand left all this material on his death to the University Library in Leiden it now appeared possible to show how the illustrations developed and to recuperate the frequently symbolical significance of the prints. The books displayed included religious, literary and historical works, amongst which was Marchand's own book on the early history of printing accompanied not only by sketches and suchlike but also by copperplates and woodblocks made for the illustrations. To this material were also added other works by the engravers Picart and Van der Schley. An illustrated catalogue appeared, prepared by the In- stitute of Art History of the University of Leiden and by the Library. Together with the exhibition on Prosper Marchand and his work the museum also organized a special display on Jacob van Maerlant's Rymbybel. The museum possesses a manuscript of this rhymed Bible completed in 1332 and decorated with dozens of miniatures, the first signed work by a Dutch painter, the otherwise unknown miniaturist Michiel van der Borch. A booklet on this medieval manu- script with an introduction and reproductions of all the miniatures was produced by the museum in collaboration with the Staatsuitgeverij. Besides the RJmb§bel itself a number of comparable fine medieval manuscripts from the Museum's holdings could be admired. The price of the booklet is f 19,50 (excluding postage).

DUTCHAUCTION RECORDS

With five sales the second half of the auction season 1984-5 can be considered quiet. The first was on 26 and 27 February 1985 and was held by Beijers in Utrecht. Needless to say it was again the atlases which fetched the highest prices: R. and J. Ottens, Atlas Minor ( 1725-50, Koeman Ott.1) went for f 21,500 and I. Tirion, Nieuwe en beknopte hand-atlas (Amsterdam c. 1770, Koeman Tir. 4) for f 11,000. The f 4,800 for Totius Neobelgii nova et accuratissima tabula (Amsterdam, C. Allardt, c. 1690) came as a surprise in view of the estimate off 300-350. Terwen's 157

Het Koningr§k der Nederlanden maintained its value at f 5,500. f 9,000 were paid for M. Houttuyn, Houtkunde (Amsterdam 1791-5) and f 8,200 for Afbeelding der marmer soorten (Amsterdam 1776), respectively estimated at f 3,500-4,000 and f 2,000- 2,500. The 'excessively rare first edition' of Barthout van Akerlaecken, Genealogien der hertoghenvan Gelre, Cleve, Berghe en graven van der Marck (n.p. 1627) fetched f 5,000, while the estimate was somef 2,000 higher. A large collection of the Dutch writer Willem Bilderdijk (1756-1831) with a total of 101 works (and incomplete at that) now changed hands for f 4,500, which would have been unthinkable a few years ago. The second auction was held on 18 June. Again it was an atlas which fetched the highest price: f 18,000-being a composite atlas with fifty maps by Danckerts, 1. van Keulen, N. Visscher (37 items) and F. de Wit, all in contemporary colours. That even a facsimile can fetch a high price was proved by the f 8,000 for the Gutenberg Bible published in 1978. The f 5,300 for the copies by Jacob Hagen jun. of KonstrJk tekenboekvan Abraham Bloemaart of 1785-91, and consisting of 167 leaves, was three times the estimate. Georgius Kleppisius, Emblemata varia (Leipzig 1623) changed hands for f 4,800. A little lower were the f 4,400 for Marc Chagall, Illustra- tions pour la Bible (Paris, Verve, 1956; estimate f 1,400-1,800) and the f 4,500 for A. Schreiber, Le guide des voyagessur le Rhin [...] (Heidelberg 18253), which thus met the expectations. The first auction held by Van Gendt in 1985 was on 12 and 13 March. The record was undoubtedly set by Jan Sieuwertsz Kolm's manuscript Ghedenck boek, waer in staet geteeckent: gerijmt en geschreven [... ]. Kolm (Amsterdam 1589-1636) was an artist and a playwright. The manuscript revealed this in full so that the price off 64,000 was hardly surprising. A hand-coloured composite atlas with 73 maps by such men as C. J. Visscher and N. Visscher I and II and J. Janssonius (Amster- dam 1650-c. 1677) met the estimate at f 27,000. A Roesel van Rosenhof, Rosenhof, De natuurlyke historie der insecten (/Amsterdam 1765-88?) was good for f 10,000 thanks to the presence of the rare fifth volume, while J. le Maire, Spieghel der Australische navigatie (Amsterdam 1622), bound together with A. de Herrera, Nieuwe werelt and P. Ordonnez de Cevallos, Eyghentlycke beschryvinghevan West-Indien changed hands for f 9,000. The f 6,400 for an incomplete set of the first twelve volumes of Wendingen, Maandblad voor bouwen en sieren (Amsterdam 1918-31) did well in view of the estimate of f 3,500. Not quite so many brilliant sales were effected at the auction of 12-14 June. Nozeman and Sepp's Nederlandsche vogelen(Amsterdam 1770-1829) fetched f 46,000, Th. Pennant, The British zoology: Quadrupeds (and) Birds ( 1761-6) f 36,000, and J. A. Gould, A monograph of the Pamphastidae, or family of toucans (London 1852- 54) f 29,000, good prices for these fine bird books. J. C. Sepp, Beschouwing der wonderen Gods /... J of Nederlandscheinsecten (Amsterdam 1762-1860, and the continua- tion by S. C. Snellen van Vollenhoven, ibid. 1860-1900) was, at f 14,500, within the expectations raised by the estimate. Finally we should mention the f 7,000 for A. Montanus, De nieuwe en onbekendewereld, of beschryvingvan America en 't Zuid-Land (Amsterdam 1671), for Cornelius Aurelis, Die cronyke van Hollandt, Zeelandt ende Vrieslant (the so-called Divisiekroniek) (Leiden 1517, NK 613) and for P. Fouquet, Nieuwe atlas van de voornaamste gebouwen en gezigten der stad Amsterdam (Amsterdam c. 1800). A sale with rare and attractive material.