PRINTED HERBALS

PRINTED HERBALS

Printed herbals initially followed in the tradition of its hand-written ancestors. Illustrations at first took the form of black-and-white or coloured woodcuts, later printers used the technique of copper engraving. Over time, the depicted plants increasingly came to resemble living models.

The first printed herbal in Europe was published in 1475 in Augsburg. It was a printed version of Buch der Natur (1349), a book on natural science by Konrad von Megenberg (1309–1374). Other important early (pre-1500) printed herbals include a Latin Herbarius (1484) printed in Mainz by Peter Schöffer (1420–1502), which was soon followed by an updated and expanded German version (Herbarius zu Teutsch, 1485). It was a compilation of Greek and Arab manuscripts assembled at least in part by the German physician and botanist Johann Wonnecke von Kaub (approx. 1430–1503/4).

A highly original herbal was created by Otto Brunfels (approx. 1488–1534), who focused on the flora of central Europe. Plants presented in this herbal look like part of living nature, including various imperfections such as wilted leaves or leaves damaged by parasites. Another important early herbal is the Kreutterbuch, work of the German physician Hieronymus Bock (1498–1554). This treatise includes descriptions of about 700 plant species including their names, morphological characteristics, and various medical uses. Several illustrations even place the plants in lively genre scenes which include people or animals.

Of great significance for the development of botany was De historia stirpium commentarii insignes (Significant commentaries on the history of plants) by Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566), which includes over 500 woodcut illustrations of very high quality. Over 100 species (such as maize or tobacco) appear here for the very first time because they had been brought to Europe from the American continent only recently.