Laurel, Laurus undulato folio vulgaris
9 1/2 by 15 1/4 inches
WNM83 $125
This selection of prints is from Johann Weinmann’s Phytanthoza Iconographia, 1737-1787. These rare and beautiful prints represent one of the most outstanding and innovative achievements in botanical illustration. The engraver, J.J. Haid printed many of the illustrations utilizing a new mezzotint technique pioneered by the Englishman, Kirkall, to produce 1,025 hand colored engravings.
Johann Weinmann directed a famous pharmacy in Regensburg. The Phytanthoza Iconographia was his masterpiece, a huge work in eight folio volumes which provided one of the most comprehensive botanical references of the eighteenth century. Great Flower Books describes it as a “pioneering work of botanical prints” and it remains today one of the most ambitious works ever undertaken, displaying over 4,000 species. Particularly magnificent are the tulips, iris, exotic palms and pineapples, cactus, fruit & vegetables.
The artist for the much of the work was the gifted Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770). Born of a humble family in Heidelberg, Ehret was taught to draw by his father at an early age. As a young man, he worked as a gardener first for the Elector of Heidelburg and then the Margrave of Badaen-Durlach.
We are offering prints from the edition dated 1787, which is identical to the 1737-1745 edition and from the original plates, using mezzotints and additional hand coloring, with the text published separately. This edition is held in collections world wide, including the British Museum, the Hunt Institute and Cleveland Museum.
Each print is on chain-lined, hand-made paper, watermarked & in color. The colors are very fresh and vibrant, with full, generous margins and vibrant coloring. On a few there is a little foxing or a little marginal toning, as is often found in the Weinmann. Full margins are not shown in the images due to size, but are intact.
