| Basilius Besler was the botanist
apothecary who produce this superb work,
the Hortus Eystettensis, published in
Eichstatt, Germany in 1613 under the
patronage of the Prince Bishop of
Eichstatt. It was from the prince's
remarkable botanical garden that many of
the illustrations came. This stunning
garden was a lavish and costly creation
containing many exotic imports from far
flung parts, including American and
Asia. Besler worked on the drawings
for almost sixteen years, supervising a
team of at least six engravers. The work
depicts over 1,000 flowers on 374 copper
engraved plates, representing 667
species. The prince spent thee thousand
florins for the work and sadly, was to
die the year before publication, though
he had seen most of the plates. His
successor had little interest in
horticulture and his garden soon fell
into neglect.
It is a feat of publication on a
scale rarely attempted since, and the
two volumes of the work were so large it
was reportedly transported in a wheel
barrow. The massive size and elaborately
produced copper engravings certainly
make it one of the most ambitious
botanical publications in the history of
botanical illustration, even predating
Linnaean classification.
Besler sometimes sacrificed botanical
detail for decorative effect and the
artistry of design and splendid
compositions make this work beloved to
the very present. Only a few copies were
hand colored at the time of printing.
Each print measures approximately 18
inches by 21 inches and is printed on
the fine thick hand made paper of the
time. The plate marks are strong and the
coloring fine old coloring. There is
little foxing & the condition is superb
for the age of the plates. There is
slight bleed through of the text from
the verso, as is typical with this
publication. It is not pronounced due to
the thickness of the paper. Cost of
shipping is $19.95 due to size. These rare
and beautiful illustrations make a
wonderful addition to the collection of
the botanical print enthusiast. |
