Detailed botanical description of Frisian and Northwest European plants, trees, flowers and herbs by the Frisian historian Simon Abbes Gabbema (1628-1688). Although Gabbema was appointed history writer of Frisia in 1659 by the States of Frisia because of his learning and knowledge concerning Frisian history, he also knew a lot about botany. While Gabbema structured his work around several botanical categories (trees, flowers, herbs, vegetables, etc.), he is often reproached for his unstructured way of listing the several Frisian and other European plants. He describes their appearance, flourish, characteristics and sometimes also their uses (for example healing wounds or preventing disease). Gabbema complements his own findings with quotes from several ancient Greek and Latin writers. The book starts with some laudatory verses on the Friesche lust-gaarde, including one devoted to the publisher of the book, Hendrik Rintjes. At the end of the book, Gabbema also lists and describes several kinds of vegetables and fruits. The frontispiece is often ascribed to Jan Luyken (Klaversma & Hannema 545). Altogether this work can be considered a compilation of Gabbema's own botanical knowledge enriched with ancient knowledge, forming an extensive Frisian and Northwestern European flora.
With a manuscript owner's inscription on the title page. The present copy contains one of the two leaves not normally present (4*5: the STCN notes them only in the copy at the Royal Library in The Hague): a laudatory poem by J. Vollenhove. Binding a bit dust-soiled and with some stains, back hinge loose, endpapers a little frayed, frontispiece a little browned, some small stains throughout the book, but otherwise in good condition. Bibliotheca Hulthemiana 5970; Journal of the New York Botanical Garden (1902), p. 184; STCN (9 copies, only 1 with the extra leaves); for the author: Van der Aa, Biographisch woordenboek VII, pp. 3-4; NNBW, VI (1924); Posthuma, "Plantkunde uit de oude doos", in: De levende natuur 21 (1916), pp. 78-79; not in Hunt; Nissen; Pritzel; Stafleu & Cowan.