Magnificently coloured and well-preserved copy of the much sought-after town book. Extremely rare, no other copy has been auctioned off neither in German nor in international auctions since 1945, proof only possible for three other copies in existence in the online catalogues of the large libraries (BSB, BL, Libr. of Congress).

"In the long series of town-books, the illustration of topography and of social life had gone hand-in-hand ever since Georg Braun ... [Carel Allard was] the first editor of a town-book to couple topographical plates and corresponding costume-plates. In his collection, twenty-three of the subjects (making 46 plates) are represented by such pairs, the costumed figures in the second plates being backed, in all cases but three, by a reduced version of the same view as that presented, on a larger scale, in the first plate. Of the remaining 54 plates, 36 are views of towns, and 18 are costume pictures or characteristic 'genre' groups. - The 100 numbered plates are executed in a free style with noticeable bravura, using line-engraving and etching in combination. Of the costume-plates 36 are signed by Meijer, and the other five are almost certainly by him. Twenty views have Doesburgh's signature, and the remaining 39 are engraved in a style and with decoration indistinguishable from those of his signed plates. - ... there is little reason to doubt that its engravers worked under Allard's direction, if not in his shop, and that he imposed on the collection the unity and individuality which distinguish it. " (R. A. Skelton on the facsimile edition 1966).

With views of (& partly with costumes from): Acapulco, Alexandria, Algier, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Archangelsk, Bantam, Barbaodos, Cairo, Cape of Good Hope, Colombo, Congo, Constantinople, Copenhagen, Cracow, Danzig, Havana, Hudson Bay, Isfahan, Jakarta, Jerusalem, Leiden, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Mexico, Mozambique, New York, Panama, Paris, Pernambuco, Potosí, Prague, Rome, Rotterdam, Santo Domingo, San Juan, Surinam, Smyrna, Stockholm, Tientsin, Tripolis, Tunis, Venice and Vienna.

Lacking the plate with costumes from New York. - Spine and binding restored, plates hinged at a later point. Slioghtly stained in places of margins, with isolated marginal defects. Covering of front board with few defective spots due to worming. All in all fine copy, the broad-margined plates in fresh colours are mostly clean.
Not in Lipperheide and Colas and the respective Americana bibliographies. - Only edition. Extremely rare much sought-after town book by C. Allard, of which no other copy has been auctioned off neither in German nor in international auctions since 1945, just three other copies in the large libraries (BSB, BL, Libr. of Congress). With double page coloured title leaf and 99 double page coloured copper plates (of 100) by T. Doesburgh (views) and A. Meijer (costumes). Contemp. calf (spine renewed) - Spine and binding restored, plates hinged at a later point. Slioghtly stained in places of margins, with isolated marginal defects. Covering of front board with few defective spots due to worming. All in all fine copy, the broad-margined plates in fresh colours are mostly clean.