Rare complete set consisting of Batavia, Java, Buitenzorg, and De Buitenbezittingen (outer possessions). The work presents a romanticised account of the Indonesia and enjoyed considerable popularity despite its high price. This grand production is distinguished in the history of Indonesian illustration on account of the lithographs being executed not from the original drawings but from photographs. The text is considered highly readable, being by two of the most popular 19th-century writers on Indonesia but it was Rappard's artwork that captured the topography and people of the East Indies that made the series a success. Rappard was an Army officer living in the Dutch colonies from 1842 to 1872.

First edition; 4 vols, folio; lithographed titles, 103 chromo-lithographed plates mounted on heavy paper after Rappard, original red morocco-backed cloth, decorated in black, silver and gilt, covers with bevelled edges. Bindings rubbed, with wear to extremities, Batavia vol with inner hinges reinforced, scattered foxing throughout, a few small marginal tears to page edges, original tissue guards (some browned, some damaged), a good set.

Bastin & Brommer p46; Haks & Maris p 219.