Hortus Eystettensis: The Bishop's Garden and Besler's Magnificent Book

Hortus Eystettensis was published in 1613 to document a garden created by the Prince-Bishop of EichstStt which contained all the shrubs and flowering plants known at the time; 367 plates illustrate more than 1,000 species. It was printed from copper engravings in a very large format, and a few of the copies (no more than 25) were printed on special paper and individually hand-colored by teams of illuminators. One of these priceless volumes is owned by the British Library; and Barker, former deputy keeper there, set out to find the extant colored copies, compare them, and establish the full history of this monumental book. The text is accompanied by 80 full-page reproductions which, even in this oversize volume (12x15"), are only half the size of the originals, and comparative details from the different copies. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.