Unidentified
illustrator for Ambroise Paré (aka Ambrosio Paræo) (1510–1590)—author and
father of modern surgery
“Succarath” (aka “Patagonian Ground Sloth”), c1575,
published by Pierre Rigaud in the 1664 edtion of Ambroise Paré’s
(1510–1590), “Les Oeuvres d'Ambroise Paré.”
Initially the composition of this woodcut was published
in reverse in 1558–1578 in Antwerp for Christophle Plantin’s
printing of the descriptive travels to Brazil by the Franciscan
monk, André Thevet (1502–1590), “Les singularitez de la France
Antarctique, autrement nommée Amerique”. In this publication, Thevet describes
the extinct animal portrayed in the woodcut as having “lived by rivers, put its
young on its back when threaten and had a terrible cry” (see https://jcb.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet/detail/JCB~1~1~6438~9870009:-Succarath-or-su-).
The recut print, in the same direction
as this impression, was published later in Paris in 1575 by Gabriel Buon as
an illustration to Ambroise Paré’s “Les
Oeuvres d'Ambroise Paré” (see https://archive.org/details/BIUSante_01709/page/n87/mode/2up). The print was then republished for
Paré’s “Les Oeuvres…” in Lyon in 1614, 1641 and 1652, by
Pierre Rigaud and again in 1664 by Jean Gregoire, see the
description of this print offered by the Historical Medical Society: https://www.cppdigitallibrary.org/items/show/3023?advanced%255B%255D%255Belement_id%255D=49&advanced%255B%255D%255Btype%255D=is+exactly&advanced%255B%255D%255Bterms%255D=Portraits&sort_field=random&sort_dir=a.
Woodcut with letterpress text (recto and verso)
on laid paper (papier mouchetè) trimmed around the image and backed with a
support sheet.
Size: (sheet) 10.9 x 18.7 cm.
Letterpress text printed recto: (above the
image) “Pourt[r]aict du Succarath”; (right) “C/ D”.
Condition: a strong and well-printed impression
but the sheet is in a poor condition with stains and restored tears, trimmed
around the image and laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi
paper.
I am selling this marvellously bizarre woodcut
showing the now extinct Succarath (aka Patagonian
Ground Sloth) releasing a dreadful cry while shielding its babies from harm
with its tail, for AU$228 (currently US$176.38/EUR148.03/GBP126.74 at the time
of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere
in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.
If you are interested in purchasing this curiously
fascinating interpretation of a Patagonian Succarath, based on the description
of it by a Franciscan monk (André Thevet), please contact me
(oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make
the payment easy.
This print has been sold
