Olfert Dapper

Olfert Dapper (January 1636 – 29 December 1689) was a Dutch physician and writer who wrote books about world history and geography although he never travelled outside the Netherlands.

[1] Dapper never travelled outside the Netherlands but used reports by Jesuit missionaries and Dutch explorers.

Within a few years, he published about China, India, Persia, Georgia and Arabia.

The fine plates include views of Algiers, Benin, Cairo, Cape Town, Valletta, Marrakesh, St. Helena, Tangier, Tripoli and Tunis, as well as animals and plants.

[1] Dapper's book Description of Africa is an important text for Africanists.

Illustration of the city and castle of Corfu , from Dapper's book Description of Morea (1688)
Illustration of the ruler of Loango , from Dapper's Description of Africa (1668)
Illustration of people riding an elephant , from the 1681 German edition of the Dapper's Description of Asia (1680)