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De Bry - "An exact depiction of Eskimos" - De Veer / Barents - 1601 - Arctic
De Bry - "An exact depiction of Eskimos" - De Veer / Barents - 1601 - Arctic
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"An exact depiction of Eskimos or Samoyeds"
-Original Copperplate Engraving from 1601
-Johan Theodore De Bry
-Image 14x10cm
-Page 29x19cm
-Page 29x19cm
-Good condition
-Verso blank
This original engraving comes from part 3 of the De Bry's Petits Voyages. This image depicts part of Gerrit de Veer's account of the search for the North West Passage, during the voyage of Willem Barentsz.
In 1596 Barentsz succeeded in rounding the northern tip of Nova Zembla, but became stuck in the ice. The crew members spent winter in a house they built from washed-up driftwood, known as the Behouden Huys.
This is Plate 41 from the work. The text reads:
"They discovered some people called Samoyeds, at a place known as Waygat to the South of Novaya Zemblya. At first they thought these people must be savages, but when the spoke with them, they turned out to be worthy folk of a friendly disposition. They were small in build, with wide, flat faces and small eyes. Also their knees were more prominent than usual. They grew their hair long and tied it at the back in plaits. They were dressed from head to foot in furs and used pairs of reindeer to draw their sledges, which proved to be faster than horses."
