Levinus Vincent Describes his Palatial Wunderkammer with a Special Organization System

In 1719 Dutch textile design and textile merchant Levinus Vincent issued from Haarlem at his expense (Sumptibus auctoris) Elenchus tabularum, pinacothecarum, atque nonnullorum cimeliorum, in gazophylacio Levini Vincent. The work was published in both Latin and French, with the French title translated as Description abregée des planches qui representent les cabinets & quelques-unes des curiosités contenuès dans le theatre des merveilles de la nature de Levin Vincent. This work was an abridged version of the original edition of Vincent's book on his museum that he published in Dutch in 1715 with a very verbose title, the beginning of which was Het tweede deel of vervolg van het wondertooneel der natuur. The first edition, roughly eight times as long as the second, considering that the second edition was published in bilingual format, contained an extensive inventory of the contents of the museum. 
 
"Vincent and his wife collected naturalia (shells, insects, corals, birds, lizard and small mammals as wet preparations) and artificialia - (ethnography, paintings and drawings of flowers). Vincent and his wife, Joanna van Breda, took a lot of effort to present their collectables in a pleasurable and instructive spectacle. They ordered their shells and insects in elegant designs that resembled magnificent pieces of embroidery.

"Levinus Vincent aimed at the non-Latin-speaking public, printing the catalogue of his collection in both Dutch and French - Wondertooneel der Nature (Wonder Theater of Nature), giving details of all the objects on display. This catalogue sold for three guilder plus a tip or entrance fee of two guilder. He had fixed hours for its visitors. His visitor book (from 1705 to 1737) includes at least 3,500 entries, including Peter the Great" (Wikipedia article on Levinus Vincent, accessed 10-2020)

From the standpoint of natural history collections the number of wet preparations in jars and the way they were displayed in Vincent's museum was exceptional. Also, of particular interest in the history of knowledge organization was the series of cabinets containing numbered drawers with boxes of specmens in which Vincent organized his huge collection. I have reproduced four of the seven images of Vincent's organizational system tha Vincent published. All together he had 11 different display cabinets with tables in front of them for visitors to examine or view individual specimens.