CATS, Jacob.
's Werelts begin, midden, eynde, besloten in den trou-ringh, met den proef-steen van den selven.
Including: CATS, Jacob. Lof-sangh op het geestelick hovwelick van Godes sone.
Dordrecht, Hendrick van Esch for Matthias Havius, 1637. 2 parts in 1 volume. 4to. With 3 engraved frontispieces including 1 double-page, 2 engraved portraits, one of Anna Maria Schurmans and one of Jacob Cats, 51 engravings in text, the title page printed in red and black, and some woodcut initials, head- and tail pieces throughout. Contemporary gold-tooled mottled calf, sewn on 5 supports with the corresponding raised bands on the spine, marbled edges. [47], [1 blank], 772; [10], 136 pp.
€ 850
First edition of one of Jacob Cats' (1577-1660) most celebrated and influential works, and among the most widely read Dutch literary productions of the 17th century. The present work is comprising a vast moral and didactic panorama of human life centred on the institution of marriage. Through a series of narrative poems accompanied by prose commentaries, Cats discusses courtship, marriage, fidelity, childbirth, widowhood, and the moral order of society, extending the symbolism of marriage to the spiritual union between Christ and the Church. The work enjoyed extraordinary popularity, between 1637 and circa 1780 at least 36 editions appeared.
An important feature of the present work is its rich illustrative programme. It contains a splendid engraved author's portrait by Cornelis van Dalen (ca. 1602-1665) after Michiel van Mierevelt (1566-1641), together with finely engraved illustrations after designs by Adriaen van de Venne (1590-1662), executed by Crispijn van den Queborn (1604-1652) and A. Matham Adriaan Matham (1590-1660). These engravings provide a vivid insight into costume, domestic interiors, and social customs in the Dutch Republic during the first half of the 17th century.
The binding shows some wear, the spine is somewhat rubbed, some ink stains on p. 24, and some damp stains showing in the upper margin, the work is slightly browned throughout. Otherwise in good condition. Museum Catsianum p. 23 no. 171; Van der Horst, Çats en de uitgave van de Faces Augustae', in: Uit bibliotheektuin en informatieveld (1978), pp. 231-44; Worp, 'De bronnen van den Trou-Ringh', in: Noord en Zuid, 20 (1897), pp. 39-66; cf. bout the artistic contributions by Crispijn van den Queborn to this work: Hollstein XVII, 274 no. 93.
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