Watch List notes:

Gorlaeus, Abraham. DACTYLIOTHECAE, SEU ANNULORUM SIGILLARIUM QUORUM APUD PRISCOS TAM GRÆCOS QUAM ROMANOS USUS, EX FERRO, AERE, ARGENTO & AURO PROMPTUARII. PARS PRIMA & SECUNDA, COLLECTIS ALIUNDE & INEDITIS & EDITIS ANNULORUM FIGURIS AUCTIOR; CUM EXPLICATIONIBUS JACOBI GRONOVII. Lugduni Batavorum: Henricus à Damme, 1707. Two volumes bound in one. Small 4to, early 19th-century tan half calf with brown cloth sides; spine with five raised bands, ruled in blind and gilt, red calf spine label, gilt; marbled endpapers; all page edges marbled. Engraved allegorical titles, unsigned, the first depicting rings and the second with a numismatic theme; printed titles with woodcut printer's devices; woodcut initials, headpiece and tailpiece; (22), 16, (14), 28 + 3–64, 32 pages; 282 engraved plates depicting rings and engraved gems. Lacks portraits of the authors. Housed in modern brown cloth book box with brown morocco spine label, gilt. Front board detached but present; occasional minor foxing and toning; very good. An important work, first published by Gorlaeus in 1600 or 1601 (authorities disagree), and expanded by Jacob Gronovius in 1695. This 1707 printing is virtually identical to the Leiden edition of 1695, with the dates changed and little else. Both include Marbod's poem on gemstones, known as the Lapidarium or Carmen de Gemmis. Abraham van Goorle (1549–1609) was a collector of antique signet rings as well as ancient coins. Babelon 82: "Goorle's reputation as a scientist rested on both his publications on rings and gemstones and ... on numismatics.... Goorle had a collection of more than 4,000 gold coins, 10,000 of silver, and 15,000 bronze. He sold his rich coin cabinet to Henry, Prince of Wales who, upon his death, left it to his brother Charles I, who had it placed in the Bodleian Library. The troubles which swiftly enveloped England led to the embezzlement of the contents of the cabinet, part of which ended up in the Cabinet of Queen Christina of Sweden." This edition features 109 plates of rings and 173 plates depicting some 682 unset engraved gemstones. Dekesel G182. Sinkankas 2473. Græsse III, 120. Cicognara 2871–2872. Ex Queen's College Cork Library with bookplate on pastedown and their stamps (including their deaccession stamp).