Beautifully hand-coloured copy, with liberal use of gold, of the first and only edition of a verse rendition of the story of King Solomon. It has been splendidly bound by the so-called "Three Acorn Bindery" (active ca. 1756-1780/1806) in Amsterdam, and is one of only two known bindings with the present gold-tooled centrepiece (the other is part of the collection of the KB National Library). The extra attention given to the colouring of the illustrations, together with the contemporary deluxe binding strongly suggests it may have been a presentation copy.
The work is a long poem divided in 12 books, and is dedicated to former Amsterdam Burgomaster Jan Calkoen. Though dated 1765 on the title-page, the work may have been published in parts, for the engraved plates are dated 1766 to (in books 9 and 11) 1768. All 12 plates were beautifully drawn and engraved by Reinier Vinkeles (1741-1816), who engraved the frontispiece and arms after drawings by J. de Bosch. They are among his earliest work, begun when he was about 24, but already show why he would later be considered one of the best Dutch engravers of his time.
Willem Sels (1741-1789), originally a bookkeeper for the Amsterdam exchange bank, withdrew to his family estate to write poetry. He enthusiastically supported the failed democratic "Patriot's" revolution of 1787. The present poem serves largely as a vehicle for Vinkeles' illustrations. All 15 engravings are beautifully coloured with a wide variety of bright colours and liberal use of gold, and highlighted with gum arabic or shellac, practically turning them into paintings. Contemporary guard leaves are bound in before the 12 plates and frontispiece. The binding is very similar to that shown in Storm van Leeuwen, colour plate 31, by an anonymous Amsterdam workshop that the author calls the "Three Acorn Bindery," which is known for a small number of beautiful presentation bindings.
The edges and corners of the boards are somewhat scuffed. The leaves are very lightly browned and foxed. Otherwise in very good condition. A beautifully bound and coloured copy, appropriately displaying Vinkeles' stunning engravings. Fontaine Verwey, E. de la, Illustraties, 156; STCN172171636 (11 copies); cf. for Sels: NNBW VII, cols. 1134-1135; for Vinkeles: Scheen, pp. 550-551; for the binding: Storm van Leeuwen, Dutch Decorated Bookbinding I, p. 599-612 (see image 194 or colour plate 31 for a nearly identical binding).