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CATS, Jacob (1577-1660). Silenus Alcibiadis, sive Proteus . Middelburg: Johannes Hellenius, 1618.
CATS, Jacob (1577-1660). Silenus Alcibiadis, sive Proteus . Middelburg: Johannes Hellenius, 1618. 3 parts, 4° (217 x 171 mm). Parallel text in Dutch, Latin and French. Engraved frontispieces to pts. II and III by Frans Schillemans after Adrian van de Venne 51 circular copperplate emblems in pt. I repeated in pts. II and III, folding engraved plate of 'Kinder-spel' in The Hague in pt. II. (Lacks frontispiece to pt. I, E4 of pt. II with rust hole in engraving, I3r and a few other leaves soiled, quire K in pt. III spotted and soiled.) [Bound with:] CATS, J. Maechden-Plicht . Middelburg: H. vander Hellen, 1618. 4°. Parallel text as above. Full-page engraved emblem of maeghden-schilt and 44 circular copperplate emblems by J. Swelinck after A. van de Venne (Some very light worming at lower margin, occasional soiling.) Contemporary vellum with yapp edges, manuscript title on spine (ties lacking). Provenance : [H. Yates Thompson] -- S.A. Thompson Yates (bookplate). EARLY EDITIONS. Cats took inspiration from proverbs and everyday life; his realistic emblems form a counterpart to genre painting and supply interesting evidence for the history of costume', states Praz (p. 86), while finding that his 'moral emblems, being frequently nothing more than illustrated proverbs, have little to teach us about the taste for conceits'. De Vries 79 & 101; Landwehr Low Countries , 106 & 133; Praz, p. 300.