Discorsi di Andrea Mattioli su Dioscoride - 1604

Set of 4 botanical wood engravings drawn by Giorgio Liberale da Udine and carved by Wolfang Meyerpeck for the 1604 edition of the famous herbarium by Pietro Andrea Mattioli entitled 'De i discorsi di m. Pietro Andrea Matthioli sanese, medico cesareo', a work that gave rise to generations of apothecaries, botanists and physicians.

The Mirice is the old name for tamarisk, of which three branches are shown; the Phu minimo is a variety of Valeriana; the Asarina is a small climbing plant valued for its delicate purple flowers; the Orobanche is a chlorophyll-free botanical essence that lives parasitically on legumes.

The four sheets are all in order, with some marginal staining. They measure 35 x 22.8 cm, and all have a beautiful, even coloration of fairly recent manufacture.

Careful and prompt shipping.