Poissons, Ecrevisses et Crabes, de Diverses Couleurs et Figures Extraordinaires,

the magnificent first colour plate book of fish

The first colour plate book on ichthyology, among the rarest and most beautiful of all works of this type. One of only approximately 35 remaining copies of the second edition.

The first edition of Poissons, Ecrevisses et Crabes was produced by Amsterdam publisher Louis Renard in 1718 or 1719. This edition and the two that followed it 'each contain 100 color plates, bearing a total of 460 brilliantly colored copper engravings, representing 415 fishes, 42 crustaceans, two stick-insects, a dugong, and a mermaid. With one exception, all of the illustrations represent tropical species of the East Indies, said to have been drawn from nature on the island of Ambon in the South Moluccas by an artist, named Samuel Fallours, in the employ of the Dutch East India Company. The original drawings were obtained by Renard from various individuals who brought them to Holland in 1708 and 1715'. A recent survey by biologist and historian of science Theodore Pietsch determined that of the one hundred copies printed, only sixteen are still know to exist (Pietsch, 'Louis Renard and his Poissons' in Ichthyology in Context, 2023).

The second edition is 'only slight more accessible' than the first'. 'It seems that the publishing firm of Ottens took the 30 (or 36) unbound copies purchased from Renard's estate, had the plates colored, replaced the old undated title page of Renard, and added a "Preface" provided by Vosmaer and the 'Declaration sur cet Ouvrage' of Renard. These then, together with some 70 additional copies newly printed from the original coppers (save for the new title page and "Preface"), constitute the second edition', of which around 35 copies still exist (Pietsch).

While the illustrations have been criticised in the past for their 'dazzling' colour and embellishments, they are in fact based on real specimens and were considered a valuable source of information by naturalists, including Georges Cuvier, who in 1828 described them as 'still indispensable'. 'Indeed, fully 91% of the 460 organisms depicted in the book have been identified at least to the taxonomic level of family' (Pietsch).

Second edition; 2 volumes bound in 1, folio (41.5 x 26.5 cm); 100 hand-coloured engraved plates of which 1 is folding, title printed in red and black, engraved dedication leaf, divisional title, printed 19th century bookplate of Dr. Henry Petit, later pencilled notes identifying species, short closed tear to plate 22 not affecting the image, some spotting primarily to the front matter and index but plates overall clean; later paste-paper boards in red, blue, and yellow, marbled paper backstrip in tree-calf pattern, manuscript title to spine, some wear, hinges and spine professionally conserved, a very good copy housed in a custom marbled slipcase with chemise.