The very rare second edition of a rare Dutch children's book about botany by Jan Roemer (1769-1838), with 18 beautiful hand-coloured plates. Vruchtmandje ("Fruit Basket") contains illustrations and descriptions of almonds, apples, strawberries, currants, cherries, apricots, plums, peaches, figs, grapes, quinces, pears, walnuts, chestnuts, olives, oranges, lemons, and pistachios. This charming work is very rare in libraries, as only three copies have been recorded in WorldCat. We have also not been able to find it in any sales records of the past hundred years.
The present work is an adaptation of Le Panier de fruits ou descriptions botaniques et notices historiques desprinciples fruits cultivés en France, published in Paris in monthly instalments between May 1806 and April 1807. This French edition contained rhymes and stories about each fruit, but in the Dutch version these have been replaced by popular scientific reflections on the place of growth, florescence, or leaf shape of the depicted flowers and fruits. The engravings are beautifully drawn and coloured from the plate.
The first Dutch edition was published in 1809 by Maaskamp. The present work, which is equally scarce as the first edition, is either the second edition or a reprint of the first edition, and was published in 1811 by Kaal. According to Buijnsters, the Maaskamp edition contains 18 plates, but the Kaal edition only 16. However, the present work contains all 18 plates, so this information is incorrect. This confusion likely comes from the fact that the index in the Kaal edition only mentions 16 plates; the plum and fig were accidentally omitted. Buijnsters was not aware of this, as he had never seen a copy of the Kaal edition, which is a testament to its rarity.
With a small note in brown ink on the verso of the final free flyleaf, probably referring to the price of the work at some point ("f 3.60-"). The boards are browned, the front board shows some water stains, the edges and corners of the boards are slightly scuffed and bumped, the front and back joint have been rubbed, with some loss of material, all without affecting the integrity of the binding. With a small stain in the lower margin of page 13, not affecting the text. Otherwise in good condition. WorldCat 922591197 (3 copies); cf. Buijnsters, Lust en lering; geschiedenis van het Nederlandse kinderboek in de negentiende eeuw, p. 72.