Item LIB 62958 Rare Book - Maria Sibylla Merian, 'De europische insecten, naauwkeurig onderzogt, na't leven geschildert' [bound with] 'Over de voorttelingen wonderbaerlyke Veranderingen der SurinaamscheInsecten...', Amsterdam

Summary

This volume includes two works by German entomologist Maria Sybilla Merian which have been bound together: 'De europische insecten' together with her work 'Over de voorttelingen wonderbaerlyke Veranderingen der Surinaamsche Insecten'. These covered her work on the insects of Europe and Suriname, and are known in English as 'Insects of Europe' and 'Insects of Suriname'.

The first folio edition of her works, these titles were published in Amsterdam by J. F. Barnard in 1730. 'De Europische insecten' was first published in Nuremberg as 'Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung und sonderbare Blumennahrung', in two volumes, 1679-1683. 'Over de voorttelingen wonderbaerlyke Veranderingen der Surinaamsche Insecten' was first published in Amsterdam 1705 under the title 'Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium'.

The illustrations in both works were produced from a combination of etching and engraving techniques. Before her death in 1717, Merian and her daughter often hand-coloured the plates themselves.

Physical Description

51 pages of letterpress and 47 leaves of plates: 184 hand-coloured etchings and engravings; 51cm. Title page in red and black with colour vignette. Engraved allegorical frontispiece. Laid paper. Late 18th century tree-calf binding with gilt edging and decorative marbled endpapers. Published in Dutch.

Significance

Merian is significant for being one of the first European scientists to investigate metamorphosis in insects. This can be seen in her illustrations, which depict insects at various life stages. She was interested in entomology from childhood, and caught and raised insects in order to observe them first-hand. She learned engraving techniques from her step-father Jacob Marrel, and made a living from various artistic ventures. According to Woman's Record, she 'painted from nature, reptiles, flowers, and insects, which she studied with the most curious and minute observation'.

Born in Frankfurt, Merian also lived in Nuremberg and Friesland. She published her first work on European insects in 1679-1683 while living in Nuremberg. Later she settled in Amsterdam with her two daughters, where she established a successful art studio. In 1699 at the age of 52, Merian sold more than 200 of her paintings to raise money for a research and collecting trip to the Dutch colony of Suriname with her younger daughter Dorothea. There she collected and observed the local insects, conducting research towards her publication for two years until she fell ill and returned to Amsterdam.

Merian's books are considered important early works in entomology, and this volume was among the first purchases made by Professor Frederick McCoy in the early days of the National Museum of Victoria. This edition is extremely rare in Australia; Museums Victoria Library holds the only copy of this edition in Australian libraries. Additionally, Merian's work is significant as an example of the relatively small number of women who were able to participate in science during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.