Sébastien Vaillant - Botanicon Parisiense - 1727

FIRST EDITION, large folio 45x29 cm, 33 copper plates

Vaillant, Sébastien. Botanicon Parisiense or Enumeration by alphabetical order of the Plants which are found in the environs of Paris. Leiden & Amsterdam, J. & H. Verbeek & B. Lakeman, 1727.

First and only edition of this significant work in the history of botany. Sébastien Vaillant (1669–1722) is regarded as one of the first botanists to systematically study and describe the sexuality of plants. He dedicated many years of his life to preparing the Botanicon Parisiense, but died before its publication. The work was published posthumously by Herman Boerhaave.

The work contains 33 full-page, masterfully engraved copper plates, which form the scientific and artistic pinnacle of the publication. Each plate shows, in precise botanical detail, a selection of plant species found around Paris, with the illustrations meeting both Vaillant's scientific standards and the high aesthetic standards of the time. The plants are depicted in their natural form—with carefully worked details of leaves, flowers, fruits, and roots—and allow botanical determination according to the plant-classification principles developed by Vaillant, including his groundbreaking observations on the sexuality of plants. The quality of the engraving, the fine line work, and the lifelike reproduction make the plates standalone works of art in botanical illustration from the early 18th century—comparable to the great botanical works of Tournefort and de Bry. The large-format plates unfold their full effect in the pompous folio format (45x29 cm) and rank among the most beautiful testimonies of French–Dutch book illustration of their era.

Literature: Nissen, BBI 2033; Hunt 470; Pritzel 9657; DSB XIII, pp. 553–554.

Folio (450 x 290 mm). With engraved title vignette and 33 copper plates. 4 (of 18) leaves, 205 pp., 6, 18 leaves. Contemporary half parchment binding with labeled spine. Without portrait and folded map. Front flyleaf trimmed and mounted; title page with edge missing; the first leaves with Scotch tape traces; somewhat browned and stained in places. Sturdy block, otherwise interior and especially the artistic 33 botanical copper-engraved plates in very good condition. Rare first edition.