Historia naturalis Brasiliae: auspicio et beneficio illustriss. I. Mauritii Com. Nassau illius provincjae et maris summi praefecti adornata
Author: Willem Piso (1611-1678) and Georg Markgraf
Year: 1648
Publisher: Apud Franciscum Hackium ; Apud Lud. Elzevirium, Lugdun. Batauorum
Place: Amsterdam
Description:
2 parts in 1 volume. with Additional engraved title page and numerous woodcuts. Folio (15 1/4" x 9 1/2") bound in 19th-century half brown morocco and cloth. (Borba de Moraes 675-676; Garrison-Morton-Norman 5303; Hunt 244; Nissen BBI 1533; Sabin 63028) First edition.
Historia Naturalis Brasiliae by Willem Piso and Georg Marcgraf is a 17th-century natural history book about Brazil, commissioned under the patronage of Count John Maurice of Nassau. Published in 1648 by Elzevir, it is a foundational work on the natural sciences, covering the flora, fauna, and indigenous peoples of Brazil.
Willem Piso was a Dutch physician and naturalist who participated as an expedition doctor in Dutch Brazil from 1637 – 1644, sponsored by count Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and the Dutch West India Company. Piso became one of the founders of tropical medicine.
In 1637, Piso joined the Dutch settlement in Recife, Brazil, established by Johan Maurits van Nassau, where Piso took on the role of company physician. He was also expected to study the local flora and determine their value, if any, for medicine. His zoological counterpart was George Markgraf (often Marcgraf), who studied the animals. Both men were assisted by several capable artists, most notably Frans Post and Albert Eckhout.
Condition:
Leather rubbed, title heavily foxed with repairs, otherwise scattered toning, foxing and browning else about very good. Due to the size and weight this item may incur additional postage.
