This is the first scholarly treatise to tell the remarkable story behind the making of the Flora Graeca, a monumental collection of drawings and descriptions of plants in mainland Greece and the Balkan Peninsula. Originally described by Diskorides in the sixth century, the flora and fauna of the Balkan Peninsula were neglected until the gentlemen botanists-naturalists John Sibthorpe and John Hawkins, with the help of illustrator Ferdinand Bauer, travelled the region and produced a class of paintings superior to anything of their kind in existence then. These were to become one of the most valuable treasures of the University of Oxford. Based on the original diaries, letters, and specimen, this fine work is illustrated with prints from the original illustrations which are still housed at the Department of Plant Sciences at Oxford.

The Flora Graeca Story: Sibthorp, Bauer, and Hawkins in the Levant

Science & Math

Lack, H. Walter

Mabberley, David J.

Biological Sciences

Oxford University Press

The extraordinary early nineteenth century gardens of Josephine Bonaparte at Malmaison are revealed in this lavish publication. One hundred and twenty colored stipple engravings depict a dazzling array of exotic plants from around the world, while the text tells the fascinating story of how the first wife of Napoleon I came to transform a modest estate on the outskirts of Paris into a botanical and zoological garden to rival the great Jardin des Plantes itself. 
Keen to have these biological rarities recorded in lifelike watercolor, Josephine engaged the foremost plant illustrator of the day, Pierre-Joseph Redoute, to paint 120 of them on fine parchment, and commissioned Etienne-Pierre Ventenat, librarian of the Pantheon in Paris, to write accompanying plant descriptions. She then arranged for the text and illustrations to be published together as the Jardin de la Malmaison. A number of engravers were employed to produce colored stipple engravings after Redoute's watercolors, and the publication appeared in twenty installments between April 1803 and November 1805.

Jardin De La Malmaison: Empress Josephine's Garden with an essay by Marina Heilmeyer

Arts & Photography

Prestel Pub

Now available in a new edition, this gorgeously illustrated book showcases botanical masterpieces by Alexander van Humboldt, one of history's great scientists and explorers. Recording Alexander von Humboldt's historic expedition to the Americas and Cuba--hailed by many as the "scientific discovery of America"--these intricate and delicately tinted prints reveal his revolutionary findings as he traveled through jungles, across rivers, and over mountainous terrain. The illustrations in the book give the English and Latin botanical names of the plants and are followed by an exhaustive index. Internationally renowned botanist H. Walter Lack lends his expertise to a fascinating essay that discusses Humboldt's significant contributions to the world of botany and scientific research. Technically precise, the prints are equally appealing to anyone who appreciates fine art and botanical illustration.

Alexander von Humboldt: The Botanical Exploration of the Americas

History

Americas

Prestel

Garden Eden: Masterpieces of Botanical Illustration

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Gardening & Landscape Design

Taschen America, LLC

The long tradition of botanical illustration has its tribute in this new book, whose publication coincides with the occasion of an exhibition of botanical illustration at the National Library of Vienna. TASCHEN has chosen over 500 works from the library's extensive archives to be reproduced in A Garden Eden: Masterpieces of Botanical Book Illustration. Beginning with 6th century Byzantine manuscripts, A Garden Eden traces the tradition right up through recent publications of the 20th century. The color reproductions are exquisite, but you might be too busy staring at the lovely flowers to notice. Heavenly!

Garden Eden

History & Criticism

Taschen

Ein Garten Eden : Meisterwerke der botanischen Illustration = Garden of Eden : masterpieces of botanical illustration = Un jardin d'Eden : chefs-d'oeuvre de l'illustration botanique / H. Walter Lack

Koln: Taschen

Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840) was forever in high demand. Official court draftsman to Queen Marie Antoinette (who purportedly summoned him at midnight to paint a cactus), and later a favorite of Joséphine Bonaparte, the artist brought flowers to the highest of places, and offset the chaotic upheaval of the French Revolution with the delicacy of perfectly drawn petals.
This reprint brings together 144 examples of Redouté’s flower, branch, and fruit drawings. Originally published between 1827 and 1833, these precise yet tender illustrations are as delightful as they are informative, recording some of the most delicate plant specimens in the world and evoking the bygone magnificence of Parisian greenhouses and gardens.

Selection of the Most Beautiful Flowers / Auslese der Schonsten Blumen / Choix des Plus Belles Fleurs: The Complete Plates, 1827-1833

Dressendörfer, Werner

Trees of paradise: All known genera of the palm family in 240 exquisite illustrations On December 15, 1868, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794–1868), Professor of Botany at the University of Munich and director of the Royal Botanic Garden, was carried to his grave in a coffin covered with fresh palm leaves. These were a reference to his groundbreaking Historia naturalis palmarum: opus tripartitum (Natural History of Palms: a work in three volumes), published between 1823–1853. At the time, this encyclopedic treasury contained the sum of human knowledge on the topic, and included 240 exquisite chromolithographic illustrations, including landscape views of palm habitats and botanical dissections. This epic folio was based on Martius’s expedition to Brazil and Peru with zoologist Johann Baptist von Spix, sponsored by King Maximilian I of Bavaria, to investigate natural history and native tribes. From 1817 to 1820 the pair traveled over 2,250 km (1,400 miles) throughout the Amazon basin, the most species-rich palm region in the world, collecting and sketching specimens. On their return both men were awarded knighthoods and lifetime pensions. In his epic work, Martius outlined the modern classification of palm, produced the first maps of palm biogeography, described all the palms of Brazil, and collated the sum of all known genera of the palm family. For apart from his own collection of specimens and notes, Martius also wrote about the findings of others. Martius’s folio is unusual in its inclusion of cross-sectioned diagrams, conveying the architecture of these mighty trees, which central Europeans would have found hard to imagine accurately. Equally remarkable are the color landscapes showing various palms—often standing alone—which have a simple and elegant beauty. This famous work is an unrivaled landmark in botanic illustration and taxonomy. Text in English, French, and German

The Book of Palms: Das Buch der Palmen le livre des Palmiers

Antiques & Collectibles

Un Jardín Del Edén. Obras Maestras De La Ilustración Botánica

On December 15, 1868, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794–1868), Professor of Botany at the University of Munich and director of the Royal Botanic Garden, was carried to his grave in a coffin covered with fresh palm leaves. The fronds were a reference to his groundbreaking Natural History of Palms: a work in three volumes, published between 1823 and 1853.
This encyclopedic treasury of 240 exquisite chromolithographic illustrations was based on von Martius’s expeditions through Brazil and Peru. From 1817 to 1820, he traveled over 2,250 km (1,400 miles) through the Amazon basin to investigate natural history and native tribes with zoologist Johann Baptist von Spix.
The result was an unrivaled catalogue of all known genera of the palm family, outlining the modern classification of palms, describing all the palms of Brazil, and producing the first maps of palm biogeography. Von Martius’s folio is unusual in its inclusion of cross-sectioned diagrams, conveying the architecture of these mighty trees, which central Europeans would have found hard to imagine accurately. Equally remarkable are the color landscapes showing various palms―often standing alone in simple and elegant beauty.

Martius. The Book of Palms

Individual Artists

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Books by Lack, H. Walter