Het kasteel van Aigermont, en d'omleggende landtstreeken in de heerlykheit van Nederkan, nevens de stadt Maastricht; in heldendicht afgeschetst [...]. Hier is bygevoegt eene rede tot lof der dichtkunde.

4to: [20]-60 pp. (light browning).

Contemp. sp. calf, gilt orn. spine with 5 raised bands (sl. rubbed, sm. def. at head & tail), gilt sides, marbled edges. Good copy with large margins.

Very rare only edition of this long laudatory poem on Château Neercanne and the city of Maastricht, written by the prolific Dutch printer, publisher and bookseller F. Halma (Langerak 1653-1722 Leeuwarden). Ill. with an engr. title vign. and 3 beautiful double-page engr. plates showing the castle and its large terrace gardens, a large panoramic view of Maastricht and a view of the subterranean limestone quarry under Mount Saint Peter ("St. Pieters Bergh by Maastricht soo als die sich onder de Aarde vertoont"), showing both quarrymen at work and tourists in fancy pants receiving a guided tour in the human-made grotto. With additional folding portrait of François Halma by F. Ottens after A. Boonen, with underneath an ode to the author by Brouërius van Nidek (publ. ca. 1722-1724). Title in red and black.
The castle of Neercanne (or "d'Agimont", not to be confused with the nearby château d'Aigremont southwest of Liège) is situated just south of Maastricht, and just north of the Belgian villages of Kanne (Limbourg) and Eben-Emael (Liège), on a site that was already in use by the Romans. The current building, in Dutch Baroque style, was designed and built in 1698 by Daniël Wolf van Dopff (1650-1718), Lord of Neercanne, military governor of Maastricht and the dedicatee of Halma's book, as a country residence for parties and as a guesthouse. Its most famous guest was Russian Czar Peter the Great in 1717, during his second voyage to the Netherlands. The castle of Neercanne is the only terrace castle in the Benelux and now houses a 2-star restaurant. The large Baroque gardens have been reconstructed.
Ref. STCN. - Opac KBR. - BnF. - Not in Haitsma Mulier/VdLem, BL.