Botany.- Rumpf (Georg Eberhard) Herbarium Amboinense..., 6 parts in 4, first edition, mixed first and second issues, Amsterdam, Meinardum Uytwerf, Francois Changuion et al., 1750-41-43-50-55.

Botany.- Rumpf (Georg Eberhard) Herbarium Amboinense..., 6 parts in 4, first edition, mixed first and second issues, text in Latin and Dutch, including 'Auctuarium' supplement, 2 engraved portraits, 699 engraved plates on 698 leaves (a few folding), titles printed in red and black with engraved vignettes (vol.5 & 6 titles laid down, 3 titles with shelf-mark pasted to foot), a few minor repairs, very occasional minor worming, sometimes touching image or text, some light damp-staining to vol.5, occasional light spotting or staining, library bookplates and shelf-marks to front pastedowns, ink-stamps to few ff., 19th-century green half vellum, red morocco label and shelf marks to spines, vol.5 lower cover joint splitting but firm, a little rubbed, [Hunt 518; Nissen BBI 1700-1701; Stafleu & Cowan 9784], folio, Amsterdam, Meinardum Uytwerf, Francois Changuion et al., 1750-41-43-50-55.

*** One of the first great surveys of the flora of the East Indies, with the rare supplement. The plates and text of the first and second issues are identical apart from the dates on the titles.

In 1652 Rumphius enlisted with the Dutch East Indies Company and took up residence in Amboina in 1653. His sight was failing and by 1670 when his great work was ready for publication he had become blind. His bad fortunes continued when in 1674 his wife was killed in an earthquake and in 1687 a fire destroyed his library including his original drawings. These were drawn anew by his son Paul and in 1692 the manuscript of the first six volumes was sent to Holland for publication but the ship carrying it was destroyed by the French. Copies of the manuscript for the complete work did not reach Holland until 1697 where it languished for 32 years in the archives of the Dutch East Indies Company. It was Jan Burmann who rescued it and prepared it for publication.