Petter, Nicolaes (1624-1672) illus. Romeyn de Hooghe (1645-1708) Klare Onderrichtinge der Voortreffelijcke Worstel-Konst.
Amsterdam: Willem van Lamsvelt, 1674 [imprint is a slip pasted over the Johannes Janssonius van Waesberge imprint.]
First edition, quarto, illustrated with seventy-one full-page plates showing wrestling maneuvers; interleaved throughout with blanks, the first six with later paper, all other interleaving blanks contemporary or near-contemporary to the time of printing; many illustrations traced onto the blanks, with evidence on versos, some plates lightly hand tinted, these early marks all neatly and capably done; bound in contemporary parchment over boards, joints reinforced with newer paper inner joints; 9 x 7 1/4 in.
Petter was a master at a style of hand-to-hand fighting called luctorius. In his day, he was unbeatable, and he shared his knowledge of this more cultivated form of wrestling with the Dutch gentry. His wife published Petter's work after his death with the excellent suite of illustrations by de Hooghe, who created more than 3,500 prints in his career.
