Gallerie der Welt, in einer bildlichen und beschreibenden Darstellung von merkwürdigen Ländern; von Völkern nach ihrem körperlichen, geistigen und bürgerlichen Zustande; von Thieren; von Natur- und Kunsterzeugnissen; von Ansichten der schönen und erhabenen Natur von alten und neuen Denkmalen, mit beständiger Rücksicht auf die Beförderung der Humanität und Aufklärung. Dritten Bandes, erster heft. Polynesien. [UND] Dritten Bandes vierter Heft. Kamtschatka Sibirien.

Berlin: bei Oehmigke dem Jüngeren, 1801-2. First German Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Contemporary paper-covered boards, backed in morocco, gilt-stamped detail in spine compartments (5 raised bands), gilt-stamped lettering in two spine labels ("Gallerie der Welt," and "3"); 8vo (7 5/8 x 9 3/8 inches); two parts bound together, each with a title page; pp. [2], [1]-296, plus frontispiece and 4 hand-colored copper plates; [2], 297-480, [2], plus frontispiece and 3 hand-colored copper plates. Boards scuffed, and a bit chipped along the edges; spine label lightly chipped; spine lightly scuffed. Just a little faint foxing here and there, otherwise text block is nice and clean -- plates are particularly bright, and colors remain true.

8 full-page illustrations signed by P. Haas depicting scenes of native peoples and animals (walrus, seal, otter) of India, Polynesia, and Siberia, all with caption titles in German. First German Edition. Period pasteboards backed in calf, morocco lettering piece. The interest in the Oriental lands was one of the many specialisms of 19th century art. Moreover, the Orient to the Germans was almost exclusively a scholarly, or classical, Orient. It was made the subject of lyrics, fantasies, and even novels, but it was never actual, the way Egypt and Syria were actual for writers like Chateaubriand, Lamartine, Burton, or Disraeli. There was nothing in Germany to correspond to the Anglo-French presence in India, the Levant, and North Africa. These scenes in this 1801/1802 volume of the German magazine Galerie der Welt invoke this fantastic presence in these faraway lands through the depictions of rich vegetation, habitation and especially in the occasional frontal stance of the native peoples. Each carefully hand-colored scene is expertly rendered in color, and remains fresh. The first series was printed from 1799-1803 and the second series from 1805-1812.