The FIRST PRINTED VIEW OF AUSTRALIA. Francois Valentyn (1666-1727) was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church and served in the East India Company at Amboina from 1684 to 1694 and again from 1705 to 1713. He is best known for his extensive account of the Dutch explorations and settlements in the East entitled ‘Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën’, “illustrated with views, portraits and prints of local scenes and fauna and flora as well as maps” (Shirley). The scene depicted at the bottom is the first published view of Australia and depicts the Swan River in Western Australia, complete with Black Swans! It illustrates Willem de Vlamingh’s arrival at the river in 1697 when upon sighting the remarkable birds for the first time named it ‘Swaenerevier’. Landwehr, VOC, 467.4b(1); Nordenskiold 701; Shirley BL G.Valn 1a.