Cornelis Ploos van Amstel (1726-1798).

Verzameling van berigten wegens een prentwerk, volgens de nieuwe uitvinding van den Heere Cornelis Ploos van Amstel, Jacobs Cornelisz.

[Amsterdam, Yntema and Tiboel?, not before 1772].

8°. 1-36, [2], 37-39, [3 blank], [2], 1-4, 1-4, 1-7, [1 blank] pp. Collates: A–B⁸ C², A⁴, π⁴, π², A⁴.

Modern half linen.

First edition of the introduction of a new printing method, invented by the author Cornelis Ploos van Amstel, a collector, scholar, and print innovator. His experiments in colour reproduction were widely admired by contemporaries and later recognized as precursors of 19th-century lithographic and chromatic processes. Today he is celebrated as one of the most inventive figures of the Dutch 18th-century print revival.

The opening section of this book outlines the newly developed printing method — an ingenious transfer process combining etched or engraved copper plates with roulette, stipple, and burnishing, allowing the faithful reproduction of chalk, crayon, and wash drawings in delicate tones and colours.
This is followed by eighteen Berichten (instalments), some with separate (part-)titles and pagination, containing detailed descriptions of thirty-six prints executed by Ploos van Amstel after drawings by leading Dutch masters such as Jan van Goyen, Rembrandt, and Lucas van Leyden. The Berichten are numbered 1-19, no. 17 is lacking in this copy. The prints are numbered consecutively from 1 to 36, no 30 misses in this copy. In addition to the technical and descriptive notes, Ploos van Amstel included short biographical sketches of the artists whose works he reproduced.

Copies with all 19 Berichten together are very hard to find. Based on the title-page, the Short Title Catalogue Netherlands (STCN) lists three different editions, with only one or two copies recorded of each. These are all less complete than our copy. However, there are also several records of the individual Berichten, making things quite complicated. In any case, compared to other copies held by libraries, the one we offer here is exceptionally complete, although it lacks Bericht 17 (2 pp.).

Condition: spine discoloured, traces of removed sticker on front cover. Cancelled library stamp and numbering on title. A few marginal notes in pencil. Otherwise in very good condition.

Reference: cf. STCN 186642156, 424685183, 306050196 and more for the separate Berichten.

With our gratitude to the staff at the STCN!