Exotic plants and animals.- Clusius (Carolus) Exoticorum libri decem...item Petri Bellonii Observationes, 3 parts in 1, engraved title with piece cut away from lower corner margin, numerous woodcut illustrations, some ink annotations and identifying captions, foxing and occasional water-staining, front free endpaper detached, contemporary calf, stamped in blind and with gilt armorial device on upper cover, pewter corner-pieces, spine ends worn, upper joint splitting, rubbed, lacking ties, [Nissen, BBI 369; Wellcome I, 1512; Pritzel 1760; Hunt 182], folio, Leiden, Ex officina Plantiniana Raphelengii, 1605.

⁂ Clusius’s investigation of rarities of mainly non-European flora and fauna which includes his abbreviated Latin translations of writings by Garcia da Orta, Nicolás Monardes, Cristóvão da Costa and Pierre Belon. This copy with the final revised state of the Altera Appendix – intended to be bound with the 1601 Rariorum Plantarum – with the additional quire ***4, which was attached after this Appendix had already been printed. "Again and again, in attempting to ascertain the correct application of names given by Linnaeus, the inquirer is lead back to L'Ecluse’s work, which can be described as the starting point of our modern knowledge for many genera. His description and the associated illustrations thus help to typify the species of later authors" (Blunt and Stearn The Art of Botanical Illustration, p.82.

Provenance: Jo. Fr. Blumenbach (bookplate).