Paulus Hermann - Hortus Academicus Catalogus - 1687

Paulus Hermann
Academic Garden Catalog
1687 First Edition

Rare illustrated botanical catalog – 17th century

Rare and important botanical work of the seventeenth century: Horti Academici Lugduno-Batavi Catalogus, drafted by the physician and botanist Paulus Hermann (1646–1695), published in Leiden (Lugduni Batavorum) in 1687 by Cornelius Boutesteyn.
The volume constitutes the official catalog of the Leiden Academic Botanic Garden, one of the oldest and most influential in Europe, and presents the list and descriptions of the cultivated species, with texts in Latin.
The work is illustrated with original copperplate engravings, depicting plants with remarkable scientific precision (roots, stems, leaves and fruits), typical of the great Dutch botanical tradition of the seventeenth century.

Pp. (18),699,(1). 20 x 12.2 cm.
The frontispiece is missing; an enormous number of plates are outside the main text.

Good overall condition for a seventeenth-century work. Complete leaves, with natural patina of age, slight browning and sporadic foxing. Solid binding with normal signs of use and small margin abrasions, consistent with the age. No significant losses.

Paulus Hermann was a central figure in European botany and made decisive contributions to the development of the scientific classification of plants. This work stands as a fundamental testimony to the history of botany, medicine, and academic botanical gardens.