I Paradisi Artificiali

ancient entertainment, 2014

Digital

Louis Renard’s famous book, 'Poissons, Ecrevisses et Crabes' (or 'Natural History' / 'Natuurlyke Historie'), featuring extraordinary alien fish and sea creature illustrations by Samuel Fallours was first published in 1719. [source link]

ONLINE: First edition: Rarebookroom Second edition (1754): Teyler’s museum in Haarlem.

These images are from the rare 3rd Ed. hosted by Utrech University Library. 

“Drawings by Fallours:

In the 18th century three editions were published of Renard’s book, all three containing the same pictures: a total of 460 engraved illustrations, printed from a hundred copperplates, 415 fishes, 41 crustaceans, two stick-insects, one Indian dugong and one mermaid. They represent tropical kinds from the East Indies which, according to the text, have been drawn to life on the isle of Ambon in the South Moluccas by Samuel Fallours, an artist employed by the Dutch East India Company. Renard, who as far as we know never travelled abroad, acquired the original drawings from several persons. These people transported the drawings to Holland in 1708 and 1715. […]

Utrecht involvement in the third edition (1782):

Most rare is the third ‘edition’ shown here of the 'Natuurlyke Historie', published in 1782 at the Utrecht publisher Abraham van Paddenburg and the Amsterdam publisher Willem Holtrop. Pietsch only mentions six extant copies, including the one held by Utrecht University Library. He thinks the third edition is so rare because the publication was never finished. Compared to the first and second editions the preliminary pages of the third edition have been replaced by short synonyms in the Dutch and French language and descriptions spread over two columns, written by the Dutch doctor and natural historian Pieter Boddaert (1733-1795). Boddaert’s texts, however, only refer to the depicted fishes and crustaceans in the first part. Nonetheless most of the surviving copies of the third edition contain prints of all hundred copperplates.” [SOURCE]