Albertus Seba's collection of natural specimens and its pictorial inventory
Excerpt from the book 'Albertus Seba's Cabinet of Natural Curiosities'
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The collection of Albertus Seba
In assembling his collection, Seba was thus following a trend of his time. As an apothecary, however, he was already per se a collector and researcher of natural specimens. Contemporary reports testify to his being a well-versed member of this species. His tactic of buying the souvenirs from sailors just returned from the distant seas, sometimes even before they had disembarked from their vessels, has already been mentioned. He may well have made arrangements with the odd seafarer to bring back specific natural samples that rarely reached Europe and were scarcely known at home. Many remarks in the Thesaurus indicate that Seba exchanged correspondence with contacts in Sri Lanka, Greenland, Virginia, Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia) and elsewhere, from whom he obtained specimens. With other collectors he swapped duplicates from his collection, or sold them – with his usual business acumen – at a profit.
Seba succeeded in assembling a wealth of natural specimens whose fame spread beyond the bounds of Amsterdam. The full extent of his collection has come down to posterity as a consequence of an exceptionally fortunate transaction that Seba made in 1717. He had heard about the impending visit of the Russian tsar, Peter the Great, who wanted to see the Netherlands and at the same time shop for acquisitions for his own cabinet of wonders. The adroit Seba sent him a written itemization of his collection in advance and thus prepared the way for its sale. This sale actually took place after Peter had paid a visit to his home. The full scope of Seba`s first collection is revealed in an inventory drawn up by an administrator from St. Petersburg upon arrival of the newly purchased pieces. Among other things, it comprised no less than 72 drawers full of shells, 32 drawers displaying 1,000 European insects, and 400 jars of animal specimens preserved in alcohol.
After selling his first collection, Seba immediately set about establishing a second one that eventually became even larger. As the Thesaurus shows, the main emphases of this collection were marine animals, insects and reptiles.
One general problem facing natural history collections was storage and conservation. While objects such as hard, calcareous seashells were not subject to major decay, other natural specimens required complex conservation measures. Procedures were borrowed from other disciplines, such as medicine, and developed further. At the end of the 17th century another Amsterdam apothecary, Frederik Ruysch (1638–1731), who was also a doctor, naturalist and friend of Seba`s, adapted existing techniques for preserving human corpses. His conservation by means of coloured wax and oils was so effective that the bodies looked as if they were still alive. Although he kept his formula secret, it is possible that Seba had at least some understanding of the processes involved. Seba, for example, employed a method by which he could isolate the skeleton of a leaf. He submitted the leaf to an accelerated rotting process to expose its internal structure. In 1730 he published an article on this technique. Specimens prepared in this way are displayed on the first few pages of the Thesaurus.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The collection of Albertus Seba
In assembling his collection, Seba was thus following a trend of his time. As an apothecary, however, he was already per se a collector and researcher of natural specimens. Contemporary reports testify to his being a well-versed member of this species. His tactic of buying the souvenirs from sailors just returned from the distant seas, sometimes even before they had disembarked from their vessels, has already been mentioned. He may well have made arrangements with the odd seafarer to bring back specific natural samples that rarely reached Europe and were scarcely known at home. Many remarks in the Thesaurus indicate that Seba exchanged correspondence with contacts in Sri Lanka, Greenland, Virginia, Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia) and elsewhere, from whom he obtained specimens. With other collectors he swapped duplicates from his collection, or sold them – with his usual business acumen – at a profit.
Seba succeeded in assembling a wealth of natural specimens whose fame spread beyond the bounds of Amsterdam. The full extent of his collection has come down to posterity as a consequence of an exceptionally fortunate transaction that Seba made in 1717. He had heard about the impending visit of the Russian tsar, Peter the Great, who wanted to see the Netherlands and at the same time shop for acquisitions for his own cabinet of wonders. The adroit Seba sent him a written itemization of his collection in advance and thus prepared the way for its sale. This sale actually took place after Peter had paid a visit to his home. The full scope of Seba`s first collection is revealed in an inventory drawn up by an administrator from St. Petersburg upon arrival of the newly purchased pieces. Among other things, it comprised no less than 72 drawers full of shells, 32 drawers displaying 1,000 European insects, and 400 jars of animal specimens preserved in alcohol.
After selling his first collection, Seba immediately set about establishing a second one that eventually became even larger. As the Thesaurus shows, the main emphases of this collection were marine animals, insects and reptiles.
One general problem facing natural history collections was storage and conservation. While objects such as hard, calcareous seashells were not subject to major decay, other natural specimens required complex conservation measures. Procedures were borrowed from other disciplines, such as medicine, and developed further. At the end of the 17th century another Amsterdam apothecary, Frederik Ruysch (1638–1731), who was also a doctor, naturalist and friend of Seba`s, adapted existing techniques for preserving human corpses. His conservation by means of coloured wax and oils was so effective that the bodies looked as if they were still alive. Although he kept his formula secret, it is possible that Seba had at least some understanding of the processes involved. Seba, for example, employed a method by which he could isolate the skeleton of a leaf. He submitted the leaf to an accelerated rotting process to expose its internal structure. In 1730 he published an article on this technique. Specimens prepared in this way are displayed on the first few pages of the Thesaurus.
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Albertus Seba's Cabinet of Natural Curiosities
Hardcover, 29 x 44 cm (11.4 x 17.3 in.), 636 pages
$ 200.00
$ 200.00
Albertus Seba's Cabinet of Natural Curiosities - One of the most prized natural history books of all time
Amstelaedami, Apud Janssonio-Waesbergios. MDCCLVIII (1758)
Leonhart Fuchs: Historia Stirpium, 1542