A “Wonder Theatre of Nature” in Marquand

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Nicola Shilliam
Levinus Vincent and Joanna van Breda, Wondertooneel der nature, geopent in eene korte beschryving der hoofddeelen van de byzondere zeldsaamheden daar in begrepen; in orde gebragt en bewaart (1706-1715): detail of a specimen cabinet of butterflies

Many people have some sort of souvenirs of the solitary walks they made during the COVID era. Digital memories recorded on phones or tangible objects, perhaps a feather or a curious stone, are proof of our reacquaintance with the “wonders of nature.” In the seventeenth century, the opening-up of a wider world through trade and exploration brought new wonders to reinvigorate the deeply rooted human impulse to collect and categorize.  Scholars and wealthy amateurs acquired examples of both natural phenomena and the material evidence of earlier civilizations for their private “cabinets of curiosities.” Guests were invited to visit these Wunderkammern, the precursors of today’s public museums, to view, admire, and discuss the treasures they contained, and important collections were sometimes documented by scholarly publications.

A cabinet of coral specimens from Wondertooneel der nature…

An exceptionally fine example of this type of publication, Wondertooneel der nature, geopent in eene korte beschryving der hoofddeelen van de byzondere zeldsaamheden daar in begrepen; in orde gebragt en bewaart (1706-1715), was recently acquired by Marquand Library with generous collaborative funding from the Zeiss fund and the department of Rare Books and Special Collections. The “Wonder Theater of Nature” of Levinus Vincent, a designer and merchant of luxury textiles, and his wife, Joanna van Breda, consisted of eight cabinets and thousands of specimens of insects, shells, corals, fossils, minerals and other objects. The collection, which was begun by Joanna’s brother in 1674, became one of the must-see sights of Amsterdam, already a center of world trade, and later Haarlem, and attracted distinguished visitors, including Peter the Great and King Charles III of Spain. 

Frontispiece of Wondertooneel der nature…

The illustrated catalogue, authored by the couple, includes laudatory verses from friends and celebrities, followed by an overview of the collection and detailed descriptions of the specimens. The frontispiece, with the Latin translation of the title chiseled into the archway, shows the interior of the Vincents’ cabinet (which could refer to either the storage units or the architectural space they occupied), drawn by Romeyn de Hooghe, one of the foremost artists in Holland, and engraved by Jan van Vianen. Allegorical figures in the frontispiece include Embroidery, perched on a plinth on the left foreground, working a pattern into one of the drawers with her needle, opposite Painting, on the right, holding a brush, a pattern, and one of the insect drawers.

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Snows of the North Country

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Nicole Fabricand-Person

Now a classic of Japanese art and literature, it took Suzuki Bokushi (1770-1842) almost forty years to get his book, Snows of the North Country (Hokuetsu seppu) to market. This was because 19th-century publishers, catering to a sophisticated urban audience in the major cities of Edo (now Tokyo), Kyoto and Osaka, did not believe there would be interest in a book focused on the snowy world of Echigo province in north central Japan.[1]

Four of the seven volumes of Snows of the North Country
Viewing butterflies on the Shibumi River (in snow). At the vernal equinox, millions of butterflies flock together, with wings touching, just 3’ above the river’s surface. At the end of the day, they drop into the river and float downstream, looking like what has been described as “floating silk in the water.” [Book 3]

Snows of the North Country is, in part, an encyclopedic view of a world overwhelmingly impacted by snow eight months of the year. Most striking are the books’ dynamic illustrations of storms.

Blizzard at Tsukanoyama Park. [Book 4]
Strange “Mountain Beasts” An illustration of one of many encounters with yeti-like beasts. Here, a salesman traveling to Tokamachi has just shared his lunch with this giant hairy figure with enormous eyes. The creature is repaying him by carrying his heavy load through the mountain pass where they met. [Book 7]

Bokushi discusses everything from the province’s lifestyles, customs, dialect and folk tales to its technologies. He also provides detailed descriptions of flora and fauna–which he admits in the book are based on personal observation and may not be absolutely accurate. (Here, for example, is an illustration of a section about the strange Big Foot-like creatures encountered by people of the north country.)

Perhaps most striking about Snows of the North Country is Bokushi’s inclusion of illustrations of “snow flowers”—scientific drawings of snowflakes copied from a small self-published book by Lord Doi Toshitsura (1789-1848) who, along with his retainer, had traveled to different regions of the north country to capture and study their crystalline shapes.

Scientific drawings of snowflakes based on the book Illustrations of Snowflakes [Sekka Zusetsu](1833) by Doi Toshitsura and Tamaki Senseki (1785-1858), artist.

Lord Doi Toshitsura’s book had not received any attention when it was published in 1833, but when copies of his snow flowers dazzled audiences in the first three volumes of Snows of the North Country, the book became a bestseller. He was consequently encouraged to produce a second volume of snowflakes, which Bokushi then copied for publication in his second set of books.

Significantly, Bokushi also used these snowflake designs to illustrate the covers of Snows of the North Country, which caused an instant sensation in the art world. The motif was immediately adapted for textiles, ceramics, lacquerware and metalwork designs across Japan. Snowflakes also began to appear in woodblock prints for the first time. These books therefore had a huge impact on Japanese art and designs that were ultimately adapted in Western decorative art.

Kano Natsuō (1828-1898) Tsuba (iron sword fitting)  with snowflake design (late 19th c.) MFA, Boston https://www.mfa.org/  

Late 19th century tea bowl with snowflake pattern. From the Takeo Nabeshima Family Archives

Hara Yoyusai, Inro container; lacquerware (late 19th c.) Koga History Museum

Kimono with snowflake pattern. Keisai Eisen, Edo no matsu meiboku zukushi oshiage myokeno matsu (c. 1840’s) Koga History Museum

Examples of metalwork, textiles, ceramics and lacquerware with snowflake designs.

Many of the remarkable illustrations in Snows of the North Country are also quite striking in their similarity to 20th and 21st century Manga. Scenes of snow squalls, storms and the unique lighting effects that occur in the frozen world will undoubtedly be of interest to those studying the art of contemporary graphic novels.

Today, Suzuki Bokushi is a cultural hero to the people of Niigata prefecture. The Suzuki Bokushi Memorial Museum has been built there to honor this important work of literature and art. For those interested in reading Snows of the North Country, later editions are available in the PUL collection in both Japanese and in English translation (Snow Country Tales: Life in Other Japan).

Find Marquand Library’s copy of Snows of the North Country (Hokuetsu seppu) in our online catalog.

  • Nicole Fabricand-Person, Japanese Art Specialist

[1] Present-day Niigata prefecture

[2] The Marquand copy is the first printing of a corrected edition of the book. The earlier edition was published inexpensively on inferior paper. It is most likely that the first printing was cheaply produced because the publisher had little confidence in the book’s success. He was willing to print a luxury edition when the first proved to be so popular.

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Experimental Relationship

Posted on November 28, 2021 by Kim Wishart
Hug by the pond

Brooklyn-based, Shanghai-born photographer and multi-media artist Pixy Liao’s Experimental Relationship Vol. 1.1 project is less document and more exploration of the shifting concepts of relationships, power balances and roles within couples, normative interactions, and the “alternative possibilities of heterosexual relationships.” Her photographs stage situations and poses that Liao and her boyfriend perform, resulting in images that are brash, provocative, funny, poignant, pensive, and visually lush.

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Welcome to the Marquand Library of Art & Archaeology rare books blog!

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Holly Hatheway

The Marquand Library of Art & Archaeology at Princeton University is one of the oldest and most extensive art libraries in America. The collection of over 500,000 volumes covers world art and architecture from antiquity to the present and includes over 13,000 distinguished rare book holdings. Marquand serves the Princeton University community and scholars from around the world, attracting over 150,000 visitors a year.

Recently, from October 8- December 5th, seven of our rare titles are on display in the new exhibition ‘Piranesi on the Page’ in the Ellen and Leonard Milberg Gallery, located in the Firestone Library lobby. Although, the exhibit is now closed you can view the online exhibit and videos of our curators presenting and describing the work.

“Piranesi on the Page” tells the story of how Giovanni Battista Piranesi, the foremost printmaker in 18th-century Europe, made the book the center of his artistic production. Celebrating Princeton University’s collection of Piranesi works, the exhibition draws from the Library’s Special Collections including Graphic Arts, Numismatic, and Rare Books; the Marquand Library of Art and Archaeology; and the Princeton University Art Museum. The exhibition also features a number of loans from national and international collections, including several works that will be on display for the first time. 

Discover more about “Piranesi on the Page” through PUL’s online exhibition.

GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIRANESI (1720–1778)
Ichnographia, Campo Marzio dell’antica Roma. Rome, 1762
Marquand Library of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University Library
Find in our Online Catalog

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