Afbeeldingen van de Kleedingen, Zeden en Gewoonten in Holland, Met Den Aanvang Der Negentiende Eeuw

Amsterdam: Chez E. Maaskamp, 1811. Second Edition. Full Calf. Near Fine. With 21 hand-colored plates watermarked from 1803 and 1811 (mostly the latter) with the names of Maaskamp and Colnaghi & Co. of London. Plates engraved by Portman after paintings of J. Kuyper. Colas 1681. Hiler 557. The plates stand out among so many others of the same era for their depiction of people doing things. These are truly genre scenes, as opposed to static costume poses, and they thus deliver visual information about aspects of the livelihood,custom and culture of the Dutch, as intended by the book's title, which translates as "Representations of the Costume, Morals (truncated) and Customs of Holland in the Early 19th Century". While there is some scattered light foxing in the book, the plates themselves are for the most part exceptionally bright and clean. A few leaves have a tight crease now flattened -- the one plate that this affects it does so de minimus-ly and is scarcely worth comment. The full calf has shelfwear evident in the corners and some other scuff marks, with a small strip of surface leather lifted on the rear board. The front gutter shows past separation which now remedied but the crack visually remains apparent the whole way down, with some spots of raw leather showing along this line. Nonetheless the leather remains quite attractive and the defect remaining worth tolerating. But for this flaw the book might be described as fine. (Inventory #: 001502)