Montanus' work was perhaps the greatest illustrated book on the New World produced in the seventeenth century. It contained over one hundred beautifully engraved plates, views, and maps of North and South America. The plates vividly depict forts, festivals, occupations, Dutch fleets, battles, religious rites, and customs of the native inhabitants. This important work was translated into German by Olivier Dapper, and into English by John Ogilby. Several of the plates were later acquired by Pierre Vander Aa.

This lot includes 58 engravings from the German edition of Arnoldus Montanus's De Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld, published by Jacob van Meurs in 1673. Among the engravings are the striking frontispiece and portraits of Columbus, Montezuma, Atahualpa, and Vespucci. The remaining 53 half-page engravings show scenes from New Netherlands, Virginia, Florida, California, New Mexico, and South America. They depict Native Americans, encounters with Europeans, battle scenes, mythical creatures, indigenous animals, native dances and ceremonies, cannibalism, and much more. Each sheet includes an engraving at top and German text at bottom.

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Condition:

The majority of the sheets are in B or B+ condition. They are sharp impressions on sheets with small chips and tears along the edges and light to moderate soiling and/or staining. Some of the sheets are lightly toned, and a few have abrasions in the engraved image. The frontispiece and Atahualpa portrait are reinforced with old paper, and there are archival repairs to some of the sheets.