Leonhart Fuchs's herbal―recognized for more than four centuries as a masterpiece of Renaissance botany and one of the most beautiful books ever printed―now appears for the first time in a facsimile edition, accompanied by a volume of commentary based on three decades of historical and botanical research; the two volumes are published as a handsome boxed set. Only some 150 copies of the herbal are known to survive in rare book collections, and in the antiquarian book market it commands high prices (a copy was sold at Christie's for $17,000 in 1997). The herbal, a compilation of information on the medicinal properties of plants, had declined in the Middle Ages. This changed in the early sixteenth century with the emergence in Germany of the new form of a printed, illustrated herbal, led by De historia stirpium commentarii insignes by Leonhart Fuchs (1501-1566). The plan and organization of the herbal was entirely original with Fuchs, although the work included a vast amount of material derived from his Classical predecessors. Fuchs's book is of great splendor, without equal among sixteenth-century herbals. It is illustrated with 511 woodcut figures, all original and depicted from life. These figures established a standard of botanical illustration that has lasted to the present day, and more than 100 species were illustrated for the first time (including 12 New World plants such as maize, kidney bean, chili pepper, cactus, and tobacco). During Fuchs' lifetime, the herbal and its various abridgements went through 39 printings in Latin, German, French, Spanish, and Dutch. The original Latin edition of 1542 is here reprinted in a facsimile only slightly smaller than the original, as the second volume of this set. The exhaustively detailed commentary will become the standard reference work for Renaissance botany. Of invaluable interest to historians of medicine, pharmacology, philology, art, and printing, it will also appeal to collectors of fine and rare books, gardeners, and proponents of alternative medicine. The commentary contains some 150 illustrations, 100 in color, that include contemporary hand-colored figures from printed copies of the herbal and woodcuts hand-colored under Fuchs' supervision for a projected, unpublished elaboration of the original herbal. Book References to Fuchs's Herbal "A folio of breathtaking splendor." ―The Illustrated Herbal "A botanical masterpiece." ―Herbals: Their Origin and Evolution "Perhaps the most celebrated and beautiful herbal ever published." ―Printing and the Mind of Man "Fuchs' woodcuts set a standard for botanical illustration that holds up to this day for clarity and directness." ―The Renaissance Print "One of the greatest of all herbals." ―100 Books Famous in Medicine

The Great Herbal of Leonhart Fuchs: De historia stirpium commentarii insignes, 1542 (Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants)

History

Meyer, Frederick G.

Trueblood, Emily Emmart

Heller, John L.

Fuchs, Leonhart

Europe

Stanford University Press

After nearly five centuries, Leonhart Fuchs’ herbal, De  Historia Stirpium Commentarii Insignes (Notable commentaries on the history of plants), is still one of the most beautiful books in the history of science. The 512 superb wood-cut illustrations set the standard for fidelity and artistry in the depiction of plants. Until the Renaissance, Western herbals were largely repetitions of the work of the first-century Greek physician Dioscorides. In 1530, Fuchs, also a physician, saw an herbal by Otto Brunfels and immediately realized the value to his profession of accurately illustrating and describing plants. His work not only surpassed Brunfels’, but achieved a lasting influence that still inspires botanists today. This Octavo Edition shows every detail of Fuchs’ herbal and includes an index of modern plant names linked to the corresponding woodcut. Commentary by Karen Reeds.

De Historia Stirpium Commentarii Insignes (Latin Edition)

Arts & Photography

Individual Artists

Octavo

In 1543, Leonhart Fuchs, physician & pioneer of modern botany, published a ground-breaking medical research book: a comprehensive study of herbs. Cataloguing more than 500 types of plants, many of which originated in the recently-discovered New World, the New Kreuterbuch, or New Herbal, brought together masterly, detailed woodcuts of the plants with essays describing their features, origins, & medicinal powers. Fuchs's revolutionary book is still, 500 years after his birth, a model for botanical illustration & research. TASCHEN's new publication, whose reproductions are drawn from Fuchs's personal, hand-colored copy which has miraculously survived four & a half centuries in pristine condition, includes over 500 splendid illustrations, excerpted facsimiles of Fuchs's original text, & an essay comparing the use of healing herbs then & now. Both an important reference book & a superbly illustrated work, the New Herbal is, as Fuchs himself described it, "a merry book to look at."

LEONHART FUCHS: LE NOUVEL HERBIER DE 1543: VA

Taschen

Review\n“…an ode to Fuch’s research and the field of Renaissance botany.” ― thisiscolossal.com\n“One of the greatest books on botany.” ― Casa y campo\n“An enduring intellectual history.” ― Apollo\n«An astonishingly in-depth and comprehensive reference work. A veritable bible for botany enthusiasts.» ― EnVols (Air France)\n“These delicately detailed representations of plants by a founding figure of modern botany are given a new lease of life.” ― New Scientist\nLeonhart Fuchs (1501–1566,) was a founding father of modern botany, honored to this day in the vivid flower, and corresponding color, Fuchsia. In 1543, Fuchs combined his masterful botanical knowledge with groundbreaking medical research in his New Herbal, a catalog of some 500 types of plants and their healing properties.\nWhile a dependable scientific reference, The New Herbal won fame above all with the detail and quality of its illustrations. Alongside essays describing the plants’ features, origins, and medicinal powers, Fuchs presented each plant with meticulous woodcut illustrations, refining the ability for swift species identification and setting new standards for accuracy and quality in botanical publications. From the age of great exploration, The New Herbal also documented plant types from the recently discovered New World, offering the first visual record of tobacco, maize, kidney bean, and cactus.\nThis edition is based on Fuchs’s personal, hand-colored copy, which has miraculously survived four-and-a-half centuries in pristine condition. Fascinating for historians of medicine and art, gardeners, and anyone interested in herbal medicine, the volume features over 500 splendid illustrations, and an essay exploring the history of healing herbs.

Leonhart Fuchs: The New Herbal / Physician and Pioneer of Modern Botany

Dressendörfer, Werner

Dobat, Klaus

Graphic Design

Taschen America, LLC

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