Joannis Martyn: Historia Plantarum Rariorum

€52

Historia Plantarum Rariorum… Beschreibung Seltener Pflanzen ihrer fürtrefflichkeit wegen von neuem herausgegeben durch Johann Daniel Meyer.

The original edition

The original is a very scarce German edition of Martyn’s famous botanical work first published London 1728. The plates were re-engraved by Meyer but closely copied from the originals of Jacob van Huysum. The text is in Latin and German. The 1728 edition is the first botanical book illustrated with colour-printed plates. It is devoted to new species growing at the Chelsea Physic Garden and the Cambidge Botanic Garden, some of which had been brought from the Caribbean region by Dr. William Houston. Dunthorne calls the book ‘a rather amazing item’, because its plates are printed in colour in an early form of mezzotint. ‘The work is of particular interest as it contains some of the earliest examples of colour-printing from a single metal plate. Many of the prints in the ‘Historia’ are printed in green but some are printed in two or more colours from a single plate at one impression. All were afterwards touched by hand. Most of the plates are after Jacob van Huysum, a flower painter born at Amsterdam. He worked in England from about 1721 and was the brother of the famous Dutch flower painter Jan van Huysum. The plates depict plants from Cape of Good Hope (a few Pelargosiums and a Mesem), North America and the West Indies.

Nürnberg, printed by Andreas Bieling, 1752. Folio (495 x 350 mm). pp. (6), 24, with 50 colour-printed mezzotint plates finished by hand. Contemporary half calf, spine in 7 compartments with floral gilt ornaments and red gilt lettered label, speckled boards.

Reprint edition

Digital printing, in half canvas binding. The size of our edition is slightly smaller than the original.