In the late 16th Century, Dutch beachcomber Adriaen Coenen scanned the beaches of Holland for marine material and produced several illustrated manuscripts of his findings, covering anything from the commonplace herring to the exotic moonfish. This book offers a selection of more than 100 pages from Coenen's manuscripts that deal mainly with whales. Lively watercolours are reproduced in colour alongside translations of his texts and are accompanied by modern marine biological identifications and observations that explain his work.