First and only edition of the anonymous Dutch translation of William Gilpin's An Essay upon Prints, first published in London in 1768. One of the earliest manuals for print collectors, the work combines an introduction to the principal printmaking techniques (including engraving, etching, and mezzotint) with practical advice on collecting and appreciating prints. Gilpin (1724-1804), best known for developing the aesthetic concept of the picturesque, discusses the qualities of leading printmakers and painters, including Rembrandt, Nicolaes Berchem, Paulus Potter, and William Hogarth, while commenting on individual prints by artists such as Boëtius Adamsz. Bolswert, Salvator Rosa, Pietro Testa, Karel du Jardin, and Romeyn de Hooghe. He was less charmed by the prints of the Dutch engraver Jan Luyken. A French translation followed only in 1800.
The vellum is mildly soiled. The margins of the engraved title-page are slightly waterstained, the edges of several leaves are slightly frayed. Otherwise in good condition. Kunst op schrift, no. 1211; Oxford Dict. of Nat. Biography (2004), I.V.; STCN 231580940 (8 copies); cf. Vaderl. Letteroefeningen (1788), pp. 170-175.