E Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld – Marine Life (Manatee and Fish of Hispaniola)

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  SKU: 98189

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• ARTIST: Arnoldus Montanus

• PUBLISHER: Published by Jacob van Meurs, Amsterdam.

• MEDIUM: Engraving and letterpress

  DATE: 1671

• EDITION SIZE: Paper size 12 3/16 x 8" (31 x 20.3 cm).

• DESCRIPTION: This leaf from Montanus’ E Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld offers a vivid account of marine life around Hispaniola, with particular attention to the manatee (manati) and the fish abacatuaia. Montanus describes the manatee as “niet ongelijk een ledere wijnsack” (“not unlike a leathern wineskin”), fifteen feet in length, with a gray, hairy hide, forelimbs beneath the head, and a narrowing tail. He recounts the story of a tamed manatee named Maton, kept in Lake Guaynaho by the cacique Caramatexi, so domesticated that it came when called, joined meals indoors, and even carried children across the water on its back. The fish abacatuaia is noted for its silvery ringed eyes, five black fins, forked tail, and thin, shining skin, with flesh said to be particularly tasty. Both text and illustration highlight the exotic richness of the Caribbean’s natural world, presenting creatures that were at once marvelous, useful, and strange to European readers encountering them for the first time.

• ADDITIONAL INFO: This piece is in a 9 x 14 inch archival mylar for handling.

• CONDITION: Good condition, some foxing in the margins.

• REFERENCE:

• CATEGORIES: 18th-19th Century Subjects , Natural History - Animals & Insects , Marine Mammals