Orchidee: Scarpetta di Venere - 1597

We offer a sheet with two varieties of Venus's Shoes, orchids among the most beautiful and rare, paired on the opposite side with the woodcut of Saponaria officinalis. Overall, there are 3 woodcuts all drawn for The Herball or generall Historie of Plantes by John Gerard in its first edition of 1597. Gerard was the most prestigious plant scholar in English circles, together with William Turner (c. 1508–1568) and John Parkinson (1567–1650); keen 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 sheet is in excellent condition with a slight marginal browning. Beside the Latin name of the orchids and of the Saponaria there is the English one; indeed, since nomenclature was still far off, these are not scientific names, but common Latin ones with the English translation. The Venus’s Shoes - Calceolus Mariae on the left and Calceolus Mariae alter on the right - is among the most well-known and recognizable orchids thanks to the striking flower. Its habitat extends in the mountains of Europe from the Pyrenees, to the Alps, to the Carpathians, from Scotland to Eastern Europe; it is, however, today protected everywhere due to its vulnerability. Saponaria is a plant whose detergent and medicinal properties were well known, hence the name. All three woodcuts feature a delicate, antique coloration. Accurate and swift shipping.

估價:$225.18

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