1784-1790 Scarce Botanical Copper-Plate Engraving From:
ICONES
PLANTARUM MEDICALUM.
Abbildungen von Arzneygewächsen
By
Johannes Zorn
Tab. 168
Carlina Acautis
(the Stemless Carline Thistle, Dwarf Carline thistle, or Silver Thistle)
This wonderful, crisp engraving originates from Johannes Zorn's Florilegium of Medicinal Plants, published in Nuremberg between 1784 & 1790. Appears to be on gorgeous, thick handmade chain-lined laid paper.
Plates from these volumes are rare, & especially scarce to find them un-colored. The beauty of non-colored engravings is that the sculpted, incised lines carved into the copper are revealed un-obscured by paint. This set which I'll be listing individually shows the beauty of the engraver's art, expertly done in this series in minute detail. They will make wonderful, subtle, fascinating, rare & authentic framed displays in groups or singles.
The Volumes:
The complete work was published in 6 volumes, exquisitely illustrated with 600 copperplate engravings. It is an outstanding work with parallel text in German & Latin. This is an extremely rare work, in excellent condition, illustrating a wide variety of botanicals such as iris, water lily, violet, strawberry, herbs, spices & many more.
The Author & Editor:
Johannes Zorn (1739–1799) was a German pharmacist, botanist and botanical illustrator. After his studies in pharmacy, Zorn became an apothecary in his hometown. He made extensive trips across Europe to collect medicinal plants, and between 1779 and 1790 published 6 volumes of "Icones plantarum medicinalium" (the present work) in Nuremberg in which he illustrated and described over 600 medicinal plants.
The Artists & Engravers:
Made by 'J. C. Claussner' after 'B. Thanner'. B. Thanner originated from Kempten. He is only known for his designs for this book.
Condition:
Appears to be in excellent condition for a nearly 230-year-old engraving. Virtually pristine, very little age-toning. The quality of the work is superb. These prints are very old & may have minor imperfections expected with age, such as some typical age-toning of the paper, oxidation of the old original watercolors, spots, text-offsetting, artifacts from having been bound into a book, etc. Please examine the photos & details carefully.
Text Page(s): This one comes without original text page(s). I've included a scan of a title page from one of the related volumes for reference, it's not part of this listing.
Size: 8-1/2 x 5-1/2" approximately
