Albertus Seba "Locupletissimi Rerum Naturalium Thesauri", 1734-1765

During his lifetime, Albertus Seba, a wealthy German pharmacist, resident in Amsterdam and a trader with the Dutch East India Company, assembled two large natural history collections. The first he sold himself to Peter the Great of Russia in 1716 and it became part of the museum of rare natural history specimens in St. Petersburg.

Seba immediately began to assemble an even larger Cabinet of Curiosities, in Amsterdam, beautifully exhibited in case & cabinets which became famous in Europe & one of the sights of the city. Two years prior to his death, he commenced publication of his four volume catalogue “Loccupletissimi Rerum Naturalium Thesauri Accurata Descriptio” documenting this fabulous collection. Sadly, his heirs sold his collection upon his death to complete the work, which remains the lasting documentation of his collection. Some of his actual specimens can still be viewed in St Petersburg and in natural history museums worldwide.