a. Musa, Banana, Pican. b. Moschatellina, seu Fumaria bulbosa minima. c. Muscus clavatus, Lycopodium, Pied de Lup, Johannis,, Gíértel. d. Muscus terrestris cupressi formis, Weint,, Kraŭf.

Description

original hand colour mezzotint.

Large botanical print of the “Banana” from the Florilegium ‘Phytanthoza Iconographia’ (or Duidelyke Vertoning…), pl. 737; published by Zacharias Romberg in Amsterdam between 1736 and 1748. This is the Dutch language edition of the 18th century botanical master-work by this German author, originally published by Lentz of Regensburg/Germany. Johann Wilhelm Weinmann (1683 – 1741), apothecary and botanist, created his Florilegium between 1737 and 1745, an ambitious 8-volume folio project with more than 1,000 hand-coloured engravings of several thousand plants. He employed the youthful Georg Dionysius Ehret as illustrator, who used a newly developed printing process involving mezzotint, which allowed greater detail and shading, with hand-colouring finish. As a result, the Phytanthoza iconographia is highly regarded for the quality of its colour plates, and the accuracy of its images compared with previous herbals and the author was greatly respected for his writings on medicinal plants and herbs.

Condition

Extended lower left margin for matting purposes, due to the plate being a larger fold out; professionally repaired small tear, usually prone to some foxing or colour bleed, but this is generally very clean.