The Herball or generall Historie of Plantes [5 xilografie di fiori] - 1597

We propose 2 sheets, one with 2 and the other with 3 wood engravings of plants drawn for “The Herball or generall Historie of Plantes” by John Gerard in his first edition of 1597.

Gerard was the most prestigious plant scholar in English circles, alongside William Turner (c.1508?-1568) and John Parkinson (1567-1650); an attentive observer, gardener and enthusiastic collector, skilled and brilliant in writing, John Gerard was in fact a barber-surgeon, but he will go down in history as a botanist by virtue of this work.

The 2 sheets are in excellent condition with a slight marginal browning; together they depict 5 plants, indicating the Latin and English names. Since nomenclature was not yet fully established, these are the common names of the era, not scientific ones.

The first sheet shows:
Carduus Chrysanthemus Hispanicus and beside it the variant Carduus Chrysanthemus Narbonensis, corresponding to the current thistle, a sturdy plant with pungent leaves. At that time different geographical positions generated distinct varieties, so the Spanish thistle was considered only a relative of the one from southern France.
On the back of the sheet continues the English descriptive text of the two plants.

On the second sheet appear on the front Asparagus sylvestris aculeatus and beside it Asparagus sylvestris Spinosus Clusij. The former represents the mature asparagus plant, whose shoots are highly prized in cooking in spring; the latter is a variety of asparagus found in southern Italy with spine-like leaves and deep blue-black berries, which, despite its rather uninviting appearance, yields the shoots—spring shoots—edible.

On the back is shown a Drypis plant, today known as the peacock thistle, a shrub-forming plant protected by needle-shaped leaves made graceful by the tufts at the crown, visible even in the woodcut.

All five wood engravings feature an old, delicate coloring.

Accurate and prompt shipment.