Leem, Knud | Perhaps the most famed account of the Lapp peoples

Leem, Knud

Beskrivelse over Finmarkens Lapper, deres Tungemaal, Levemaade og forrige Afgudsdyrkelse. Copenhagen, 1767

4to (251 x 194 mm). Title and text in Danish and Latin, 101 engraved plates, including the scarce unnumbered plate of runes; title-page very lightly spotted. Contemporary paneled calf, marbled endpapers, blue speckled edges; rebacked retaining the original spine.

A handsomely bound copy of this famed account of the Lapp, or Sámi peoples, complete with the often missing unnumbered plate of runes.

Knud Leem was a Norwegian priest and linguist that studied the Sámi peoples extensively, producing dictionaries and grammars of the Sámi language. His most celebrated, yet most elusive work is the present volume, a rich description of the culture of the Sámi including their dress, cuisine, hunting and beliefs, accompanied by many attractive plates from drawings by Leem himself. It can certainly be called one of the most important topographic works of the Nordic countries from the eighteenth century.

REFERENCES:

Nyegaard, 100 viktige bøker (Oslo, 1984), 73

PROVENANCE:

"Lord Valentine" [?] (Ownership inscription pasted to front endleaf)