Albertus Seba: Cabinet of Natural Curiosities edited by Irmgard M眉sch,
Rainer Willmann and Jes Rust, Taschen, 拢100, ISBN 3822816000
鈥淟OCUPLETISSIMI rerum naturalium thesauri accurata descriptio, et iconibus
artificiosissimis expressio, per universam physices historiam. Opus, cui, in hoc
rerum genere, nullum par exstitit. Ex toto terrarum orbe collegit, digessit,
descripsit, et depingendum curavit.鈥� Great title, isn鈥檛 it? But not one that
would pull in the crowds these days. Back in the 18th century, though, Albertus
Seba, a wealthy pharmacist of Amsterdam, was the leading collector of natural
history specimens. His collection was the largest of its kind, a descendant of
the cabinets of wonders that can be traced back to antiquity. Pliny, for
example, mentions collections of gemstones given by rich Romans to temple
treasuries. During the Renaissance, as Lisa Jardine points out in her excellent
Worldly Goods (Norton, 1998), displays of curiosities served a vital
function in establishing the status of the wealthy: not just moneygrubbers, but
intellectuals to boot.
In his opening words, Seba boasts that there鈥檚 been no other book like this
before. He commissioned artists to draw and paint his collections of insects,
fishes, birds, reptiles and plants, as well as the occasional fantastic
creature鈥攁 seven-headed 鈥渉ydra鈥�, for example. But he could be mean to his
illustrators: one of them died unpaid after weeks of work. And his famous
cabinet of curiosities was not the only one of its kind: Sir Hans Sloan in
London and Linnaeus in Sweden were also collecting, compiling and
identifying. This is an extraordinary and beautiful book, however, and stuffed
with information. Taschen has reproduced the entire set of plates鈥�449 in
all鈥攆rom a hand-coloured Dutch edition. The price is high, but the
alternative is to save up for a plate or two and chase round the auction rooms.
The only puzzle is who will have 拢100 to spend on this glorious
tome鈥攁nd who has bookshelves strong enough to bear it. There鈥檚 no question
that people will want it. While it sat on my desk at New 杏吧原创,
everyone who spotted it offered to give it a home.
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