215 - OLAUS MAGNUS. History of the Northern Countries. In which all the rare or strange things found among the Northern Nations are briefly but clearly described. Antwerp, Printed by Christophle Plantin, 1561. In-8, midnight blue morocco, “à la du Seuil” decoration, decorated spine, interior lace, gilt edges (J.-F. Barbance).

OLAUS MAGNUS. History of the Northern Countries. In which all the rare or strange things found among the Northern Nations are briefly but clearly described. Antwerp, Printed by Christophle Plantin, 1561. In-8, midnight blue morocco, “à la du Seuil” decoration, decorated spine, interior lace, gilt edges (J.-F. Barbance). Very rare first and only edition of the French translation. A lovely Plantin edition, in which the dedicatory epistle to Jaspar Schets, counselor and general treasurer to the King in the Low Countries, is printed in courtesy type. It is adorned with approximately 135 charming woodcut vignettes, reduced copies of those from the original edition published in Rome in 1555. Some of these illustrations relate to hunting and fishing and depict various wild animals of these northern regions (deer, fallow deer, bear, wolf, reindeer, lynx, otter, fox, marten, beaver, squirrel, etc.): this iconography is significant for the history of hunting and fishing practices among the peoples of the North. (Thiébaud, col. 691–692.) Expert: Mr. Dominique Courvoisier