Sea Life Journal — Renard 1719 Poissons Fallours Moluccas

When Louis Renard printed Poissons, Écrevisses et Crabes in Amsterdam in 1719, he gave the world the first colour publication on fish ever known — and the most gloriously surreal vision of the seas of the East Indies that European eyes had ever seen. The front cover reproduces Folio 5, a luminous assembly of Moluccas fish by Samuel Fallours, soldier of the Dutch East India Company, including the Baard Mannetje, the Gravinne, and the magnificent Douwing Farmolu, identified by modern ichthyologists as a juvenile Pomacanthus imperator (Emperor Angelfish), rendered in hand-coloured engraving of extraordinary chromatic intensity; the back presents Plate XLVII from the 1754 second edition — the Eenhoorn Licorne (unicorn fish with a long black horn and nearly human lips), the ceremonial Catjang-radi crab from Ambon with turquoise blue claws, and the Tafel-Kreeft lobster — published by Louis Renard (1678–1746), Franco-Dutch bookseller and spy in the service of the British Crown.

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Product Details

• Format: Hardcover journal with matte laminated full-wrap cover
• Pages: 150 lined pages (75 sheets) with perforations for easy removal
• Binding: Casewrap sewn binding — flexible and lay-flat
• Dimensions: 5.75 × 8 inches
• Weight: 0.1 kg
• Cover: Matte laminated full-wrap print; small 0.5”×0.5” production barcode on back

Perfect For

• Natural history collectors and marine biology enthusiasts
• Lovers of the Dutch Golden Age, the VOC, and the history of the East Indies
• Admirers of surrealist and fantastical scientific illustration
• Those drawn to the Moluccas, the spice trade, and 18th-century exploration
• Thoughtful gift for marine biologists, ocean lovers, and collectors of rare illustrated natural history
• Anyone captivated by the moment science and fantasy were gloriously indistinguishable