Jan Commelin (1629-1692) and Caspar Commelin (1667-1731)
Horti Medici Amstelodamensis rariorum tam orientalis, quam Occidentalis Indiae, aliarumque peregrinarum Planaturm magno studio ... Beschryvinge en curieuse Afbeeldingen van rare vreemde Oos- West-Indische en andere gewassen. Amsterdam: P. & J. Blaeu, 1697-1701.
Hand-coloured first edition of this important description of East- and West-Indian plants, by the director of the Amsterdam Physic Gardens. Jan Commelin's work was edited posthumously by F. Ruysch and F. Kiggelar, while the second volume is by his nephew, Caspar Commelin. This latter contains an enlargement on some of the notes in Jan's book, with further notes on African plants. Cleveland Collections 304 (GC copy this copy); Dunthorne 81; Great Flower Books (1990) p.88; Hunt 399; Nissen BBI 389; Stafleu-Cowan TL2 1187.

2 volumes, folio (395 x 252 and 380 x 252mm). Latin half-titles, hand-coloured engraved frontispieces, Latin title-pages printed in red and black followed by Dutch title-pages printed in black, 5 hand-coloured engraved plates of arms, and 224 hand-coloured engraved plates on 222 leaves with pls 42-44 in vol. 1 on one leaf, Latin and Dutch text printed in two columns (plates 7 and 100 and text for pl. 7 supplied from shorter copies, pl. 100 with some small tears without loss and the whole sometime repaired and backed, vol. 1 with minor worming at beginning and small hole in plate 45, vol. 2 with small marginal wormholes and -tracks to plates 88-112 filled and repaired but with some very small loss to a couple of letters in captions of pls 102-106). 18th-century mottled calf (rebacked, preserving original gilt spines, extremities rubbed, scoring to upper cover of vol. 2).

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