76 5639 Ploos van Amstel C 1726 1798
= This near complete, vast collection of prints is probably the largest private collection of 18th Dutch art reproduction prints after drawings (and prints) by Dutch 17th century and 18th century masters. Cornelis Ploos van Amstel, a wealthy wood merchant and private collector and amateur artist, created a method for reproducing drawings by Dutch 17th cent. artists in print form. He began experimenting with his technique in 1765 and further developed and used it until 1787. He trained and commissioned artists to produce these reproductions over a long period of time. Consists of the prints created in the series published by Ploos van Amstel and his successor Christian Josi (1768-1828) (listed in LNP under Hoofdwerk en bijwerken), and is almost entirely complete, with various plates in different states and variants (155 prints): the Hoofdwerk (46 prints) is complete, the Bijprenten lack no.51-54, 61 and 65 (1st group) and no.71 and 103 (2nd group). Included in this section is a small number of mainly 18th/ early 19th century books concerning/ illustrated by Ploos van Amstel. Quite a few of the so called "printdrawings" in this collection have a provenance that can be traced back directly to the artist or his collaborators, either because of a dedication by Ploos to his wife or to his fellow artists and art collectors that he knew, or because of the collectors marks on verso. The collection also contains various prints in more than one state, rare (and occas. unique) variants of prints. SEE ILLUSTRATION PLATE CIX.