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[Fritillary or Guinea-hen flower] Frittillaria; [Fragrantr jonquil] Narcissus Juncifolius præcox maior; [Garden narcissus] Pseudo Narcissus luteus by BESLER, Basil (1561-1629) - 1713

by BESLER, Basil (1561-1629)

[Fritillary or Guinea-hen flower] Frittillaria; [Fragrantr jonquil] Narcissus Juncifolius præcox maior; [Garden narcissus] Pseudo Narcissus luteus by BESLER, Basil (1561-1629) - 1713

[Fritillary or Guinea-hen flower] Frittillaria; [Fragrantr jonquil] Narcissus Juncifolius præcox maior; [Garden narcissus] Pseudo Narcissus luteus

by BESLER, Basil (1561-1629)

  • Used
Eichstatt, 1713. Hand-coloured engraving. In excellent condition. Basil Besler published "Hortus Eystettensis", the earliest large folio botanical, at Eichstatt near Nuremburg, in 1613. He worked on the drawings for the 374 copper engravings over a period of sixteen years using the plants in the garden of Bishop Johann Conrad von Gemmingen, his patron. Depicted in this florilegium were flowers, herbs, vegetables and newly discovered plants such as tobacco and peppers. Besler was, in modern terms, a botanist and horticulturalist, and he was familiar with real and alleged medicinal properties of various plants. Besler had the good fortune to live at a time when exotic plants were being shipped to Europe from all over the world. The garden that he organized and illustrated for his patron was both ornamental and experimental, and the large book he had engraved after his drawings was unique. The prints, made by a team of master engravers, are strong and exquisitely done.
  • Seller Donald Heald Rare Books US (US)
  • Book Condition Used
  • Quantity Available 1
  • Place of Publication Eichstatt
  • Date Published 1713
I. Fritillaria iuncifolns. II. Allium Vrsinum. III. Tulipa viridiscoloris.

I. Fritillaria iuncifolns. II. Allium Vrsinum. III. Tulipa viridiscoloris.

by Basil Besler; Kilian, Wolfgang

  • Used
Condition
Used - Excellent
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Alexandre Antique Prints, Maps & Books
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$2,750.00

Show Details

Description:
Nuremberg: Basil Besler, 1613. Excellent. Notes: Basil Besler's great botanical work, "Hortus Eystettensis .." is one the most impportant botanical books ever published.The author, Basilius Besler (1562-1629), was a Nuremberg apothecary and botanist.The work commemorated the celebrated gardens of its patron, Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, Prince Bishop of Eichstatt. 'The Book is horticultural rather than botanical, and is the earliest pictoral record of flowers in a single garden. It is divided into Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter sections and is concerned almost entirely with ornamental plants.The plates depict over 1000 flowers representing 667 species, many of them exotics appearing for the first time. The original drawings (most of them now in the University Library, Erlangen) took sixteen years to complete. With Bishops patronage Besler worked as an artist, autor and publisher directing a team of ten artists and engravers. The most important being Wolfgang Kilian of Ausburg. The work was… Read More
Item Price
$2,750.00
Hand-coloured Tulips.

Hand-coloured Tulips.

by BESLER, Basil

  • Used
Condition
Used
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Shapero Rare Books
London, London, United Kingdom
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6,307.50

Show Details

Description:
Nuremberg, 1713. . 1 copper engraved plate with hand-colouring, framed and glazed, 63.5 x 55.5 cm. (25 x 21 7/8 in) inclusive. A magnificent plate from 'Hortus Eystettensis', one of the earliest and most famous works in the field. The Hortus Eystettensis is a pictorial record of the flowers grown in the greatest German garden of its time, that of Prince Bishop of Eichstatt, Johann Conrad von Gemmingen. The garden was begun by Joachim Camerarius in 1596 and, after his death in 1598, completed by Basil Besler, a pharmacist from Nuremberg. A visitor, Philipp Hainhofer, in 1611 marvelled at the eight gardens, each containing 'flowers from a different country; they varied in the beds and flowers, especially in the beautiful roses, lilies, tulips. The Hortus records this variety and beauty. The book is exceptional in every sense; in its variety and range of flowers, in its size, in its fine quality of engraving. It is also one of the earliest records of flowers from a specific, documented garden.Besler… Read More
Item Price
$6,307.50

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