SOMMER, Johann Gottfried.
Merkwaardige bijzonderheden, inhoudende de nieuwste ontdekkingen in de natuurkunde, natuurlijke historie, land- en volkenkunde, op alle gedeelten van den aardbol.
Amsterdam, Ten Brink and De Vries, 1825-1827. 4 volumes. 8vo. With 4 engraved title-pages, each with one of two aquatint views, plus 10 aquatint views on 8 plates, all by H.W. Hoogkamp. Contemporary half calf, gold-tooled spine. VIII, 331, [1 blank]; IV, 316; [IV], 316; [IV], 312 pp.
€ 1,500
First Dutch adaptation of Sommer's Taschenbuch zur Verbreitung geographischer Kenntnisse, originally published in 26 volumes from 1823 to 1848. It includes chapters on Arabia, Persia, Uzbekistan, Paraguay, Brazil, Egypt, Fezzan (in present-day Libya), the Philippines, Europe, etc., mainly extracted from travel accounts. The second volume includes a description of Arago's voyage around the world, illustrated with a view of Rio de Janeiro's Church of Nossa Senhora da Gloria and a plate of a gaucho hunting a tiger.
The plates further include views of London, a view of an Eskimo grave, Baffin Bay (Greenland), Niagara Falls and Khiva (Uzbekistan).
Each volume with library stamps on flyleaf and title-page. Some light stains, bindings show light wear, otherwise in very good condition. Saalmink, p. 1796; cf. Borba de Moraes, p. 819 (other works by Sommer); for the author: ADB XXXIV, pp. 605-606.
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