The Ceremonies and Religious Customs of the Various Nations of the Known World

(PICART, BERNARD).

William Jackson for Claude du Bosc

London

1731-1739

Six volumes. With hundreds of engraved plates, most with multiple subjects, some double-page or folding. Text in English. With plates in Vol. I depicting contemporary Jewish life in Holland. Two additional plates of the Jews in Vol. VI

Rubens 438-57

One of the most striking illustrated books of the 18th century. “Bernard Picart was the outstanding professional illustrator of the first third of the eighteenth century, an age during which the designs for the finest illustrated books were typically drawn by leading painters. He worked for the most part in the fading baroque tradition, but there are elements in his immense production which herald the new age.” G.N. Ray, Art of the French Illustrated Book (1986), p.7. An invaluable pictorial record of Jewish life in 18th century Holland.