Madium flore coeruleo. Valeriana Rubra. Medium flore albo by BESLER, Basilius - 1613

Nuremberg, 1613. unbound. Botanical. Copper-plate engraving with original hand coloring. Page measures 22" X 17 1/4", image measures 19" x 15 1/2"<br/> <br/> Exquisitely colored botanical engraving depicting three varieties of ornamental flowers. Published by Basil Besler in his masterwork Hortus Eystettensis, the earliest codex of engraved botanical illustrations. Also known as "Garden of Eichstatt", the folio was commissioned by Bishop Johann Conrad von Gemmingen, the Prince-Bishop of Eichstatt, to catalog the extensive collection of plants growing in his gardens at Willibaldsburg Castle, the first botanical garden in Germany. The bishop died shortly before the folio was published. <br> <br> Basilius Besler (1561-1629) was an established apothecary and botanist based in Nuremburg. He served as curator to the gardens, and spent sixteen years producing Hortus Eystettensis alongside many artists, engravers, and botanists.<br/> <br/>