Florilegium tractans de variis florib. et aliis indicis platis ad vivum delineatum in duabis partib., et quatuor linguis concinnatum.

[bound with] ID. - Florilegii pars secunda, in qua agitur de praecipuis plantis et floribus fibrosas radices habentibus, nec non arboribus, speciosis et odoriferis, quibus horti in utraque Germania decorantur. Frankfurt a. Main, Erasmus Kempffer, 1612, 2 parts in 1 vol. Folio: [40] pp.-65 pl.-[1-1 bl.] pp., 42 pl. (lacking pls 41-43 in the 2nd part, pl. 4 & 5 of the first part erroneously bound with the 2nd part; some browning and spotting, tear in title and portrait repaired, tear in ***3, some sm. tears in the margins of some pls).

Cont. vellum, flat spine (sm. def. in the middle). Good copy.

Very rare first edition, first issue of the oldest printed catalogue of breeding plants, compiled by Emanuel Sweerts (1552-1612), Dutch merchant and nurseryman. The book, with a preface in Latin, Dutch, German and French, is dedicated to Emperor Mathias. It is an excellently illustrated catalogue of plants and bulbs for sale at the Frankfurt Fair (at Sweerts'), later available at the Amsterdam printer and bookseller Paulus Aertsen van Ravesteyn. The 107 (of 110) beautiful plates include c. 560 ills of e.g. sunflowers, grapevines, cactus, pineapples, roses, lemons, anemones, tulips, hyacinths, etc. Engr. general title with portraits of Clusius and Dodoens and engr. author's portrait (only in some copies). Ref. Nissen (BBI) 1920. - Paradisus Batavus nr. 118 & pp. 50-52 (ext. descr.). - Pritzel 9073. - Bn-Opale plus. - Not in VD-17.