Dissertationes de Sibyllis, earumque oraculis. Amsterdam, Hendrik en wed. Dirk Boom, 1688, [40] + 658 + [26] pp.

Full vellum, 21 x 18 cm, with ex libris of Viscount Birkenhead. With engraved title page, folding portrait of Gallaeus (1686) and all 14 plates, all by Romeyn de Hooghe. Binding with minor tears at the top and bottom of the spine, some small stains. Small tears on p. 173, p. 177 and p. 191, outside the text. Text in Latin and Greek. The Walloon preacher Gallaeus of Gallé (Rotterdam 1627 - Haarlem 1689) worked in Zierikzee and Haarlem and was most known for this treatise on Sibylline oracles. The Sibyls were mythical visionaries who predicted the fate of Rome with dark spells. The Sibylline books (Sibillijnse Boeken) were kept safe by the Romans and consulted on special occasions. The original books seem to be vanished due to time. The Hooghe shows 12 different Sibyllen, a temple near fast-flowing water and the worship of the god Hercules Magusanus. The 12 Sibyls are: Sibylla Persica, Sibylla Libyssa, Sibylla Delphica, Sibylla Cumaea, Sibylla Erythraea, Sibylla Samia, Sibylla Cumana, Sibylla Hellespontica, Sibylla Phrygia, Sibylla Tiburtina, Sibylla Europaea and Sibylla Eagyptia.Publisher Hendrik Boom and his brother Dirk had a bookstore and publishing house from 1668-1680. After the death of Dirk in 1680, Hendrik continued the business with the widow of Dirk Johanna Veris. They mainly published in Latin. B2441