Zader, Jacob

8vo (148 x 90mm.), title-page, first page of preface and first page of text with hand-coloured lettering and with insect and floral decoration around margins, leaves inserted containing 43 gouaches by a contemporary German artist (some dated 1613, 1614 and 1616 with the monogram AV), some printed chapter headlings outlined in gold, 7 pages of contemporary manuscript at end, remains of contemporary black velvet over thin wooden boards, gilt edges, lacking D4, some illustrations slightly rubbed, first few leaves slightly worn and reattached, lacking both clasps

Gösta Stenman (1888-1947), Finnish art dealer, bookplate, with a note in Swedish on flyleaf attributing the drawings to Hendrick Avercamp

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A charming volume with various scenes of wild landscapes, gardens, and pictures of husbandry, showing wild and domestic animals, farmers working the land, a shipwreck, craftsmen in their workshops, as well as devotional and allegorical scenes. The weather and the season of the scenes varies from snowstorms to sunshine, forming charming vignettes of country life at the time.

The scenes are closely linked with the text and must have been made with specific sections of the text in mind; the birds for the chapter "Die Vogel in der Lufft", the ploughman for "Vom Acker und seinen Samen", flowers for "Von Blümlein und Kreuterlein". One of the gouaches overpaints an engraving in the text, "Das Jüngste Gericht", which appears in Zader's foreword.

This edition is unrecorded, though there are copies of the 1597 edition in Wolfenbüttel and Dresden (VD16 Z29). Zader was the priest at S. Nicolai in Zeitz (south of Leipzig) and in the preface says that he was born in 1555.