Rumpf's Ambonese Curiosities (1705)
George Eberhard Rumpf. D'Amboinsche rariteitkamer. Amsterdam: F. Halma, 1705.
George Eberhard Rumpf (1627-1702), known today in the latinized form as Rumphius, was the first field naturalist to illustrate and describe tropical marine invertebrates (animals without backbones). He also illustrated fossils and minerals. Working for Dutch East Indies Company, Rumpf was stationed for many years on the island of Amboina (Ambon) in what is now eastern Indonesia. His natural history observations were published in Dutch a few years after his death, but the voluminous text was not translated into English until 1999.
Many of Rumpf's shells are illustrations are easily recognized by modern viewers and some are the basis of scientific names proposed by Linnaeus and other. His geographic focus was unusual for his time.
This illustration (Plate XVII) shows the chambered nautilus, Nautilus pompilius. The top figure shows the intact shells, while the elegant internal chambers are shown in the saggital (cutaway) view at the bottom. The middle figure shows the preserved body in which the mantel is on the left and numerous, small tentacles are to the right).