RESERVED

 

 

Joachim Camerarius II (1534-1598) [drawings, notes, editor].

Pietro Andrea Mattioli (1501-1577) [author]; Georg Handsch von Limus (1529-1578) [transl.]; Gieorgio Liberale (1542 – 1579) [designs]; Wolfgang Meyerpeck (1505-after 1568) [woodcuts]; Jost Amman (1539-591) [woodcuts].

Kreutterbuch desz hochgelehrten unnd weitberühmten Herrn D. Petri Andreae Matthioli, jetzt widerumb mit viel schönen neuwen Figuren, auch nützlichen Artzeneyen, und andern guten Stücken, zum anderen Mal auss sonderm Fleiss gemehrt, und verfertigt durch Ioachimum Camerarium [...].

Frankfurt am Main, [Gegruckt bey Johan Feyrabendt in Verlegung Peter Fuchers und Heinrich Dacken Erben], 1590.

 

Folio in 6s (36 x 25 cm.). [10], 460, [2] ll. Collates: (:)-(:)6, x-x4, A-4G6, 4H-4H4, 4I-4I2 [lacks index leaves 4I3-4R4].

Illustrated with ca. 1000 hand-coloured woodcuts and a hand-coloured woodcut title page by Jost Amman.

 

Later quarter calf with smooth spine, marbled sides, and red edges.

 

With 23 watercolour drawings and numerous annotations in ink throughout:

• 17 watercolour drawings of plants on A1v, B4v, 2Br, 2Ir, 2K4r, 2N6v, 2S5v, 3B2r, 3B3v, 3Gr, 3I6r, 3I6v, 3Qr, 3Rr (heavily annotated).
• 5 pasted-in watercolour drawings of plants on leaves A1r, V6r, 2A2v, 4E4v.
• A tipped-in sheet at V3–V4 with manuscript notes on recto and a large watercolour drawing of a plant on verso, dated 1593.
• An engraved portrait of Mattioli pasted in on the blank verso of x4v and a contemporary manuscript caption below it praising the author.

 

Joachim Camerarius the Younger’s own copy of his edition of Mattioli’s herbal, with 23 additional drawings and extensive anecdotal annotations made by him.

The Edition

Camerarius edited Dioscorides’ celebrated first-century pharmacological treatise, published for the first time by the Sienese botanist Pietro Andrea Matthioli (1501–1577), who identified the plants and added 562 woodcut illustrations. Camerarius enriched Matthioli’s work by replacing the original illustrations with more accurate woodcuts based on drawings by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner (1516–1565). These woodcuts depicted entire plants along with enlarged details of leaves, seeds, or fruits, ensuring greater botanical accuracy. This edition, published in Frankfurt, is the second edition of Camerarius’ work. He proudly highlighted his enhancements on the striking title page, designed by Jost Amman, which notes the inclusion of “viel schönen neuwen Figuren” ("many beautiful new illustrations").

Joachim Camerarius II (1534–1598) studied medicine in Wittenberg, Leipzig, Padua, and Bologna, receiving his doctorate in 1562. In 1564, he settled in his hometown of Nuremberg as a doctor. In 1592, the Nuremberg city council established the Collegium Medicum and appointed Camerarius as dean, a position he held until his death. His reputation as a doctor and botanist spread far beyond Nuremberg.

The Drawings

This exceptional copy of Camerarius’ Kreutterbuch contains 23 watercolour drawings by Camerarius himself, along with two long handwritten anecdotes and numerous marginal annotations. Photographs of the drawings are available on artemrarebooks.com, and transcriptions of the anecdotes are provided below.

Camerarius Florilegium

The drawings and handwriting are identical to those in the famous Camerarius Florilegium, housed at the Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen-Nürnberg (see additional images for comparison). This botanical manuscript contains 469 plant images on 193 pages and surprisingly includes no reference to its owner. While the attribution to Joachim Camerarius the Younger remains debated, the anecdotal notes in the book we offer here strengthen the connection.

Several handwritten accounts in this volume describe medical cases attended by Camerarius in Munich and a “control” near Munich with the attendance of Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria. These anecdotes, dated 1586, 1591, 1593, and 1595, align with the period when Camerarius was active as a physician in Nuremberg. The focus on Munich suggests this might have been his Munich copy. In any case, it is clear that the creator of the Camerarius Florilegium and the artist of these drawings are the same.

The Annotations

In addition to the two longer anecdotes, marginal annotations throughout the book provide practical applications for the described plants, such as a remedy for stubborn bowels using sorrel (a type of herb).

Control

The first longer handwritten passage appears on a tipped-in sheet with a large drawing on the verso and explanatory text on the recto. It describes a “control” (test) conducted in a garden at Niederheching in 1593 for Duke Wilhelm V and his court (“Hertzog Wilhelm selbst, Und der selig gemahl, damalen Landsfürst, als Von vielen Andern ahnselich Personen”). The botanical study concerned the populus nigra (black poplar), illustrated on the reverse of the sheet. The caption under the drawing reads: “See above the black poplar, for which this tree is here held, because of its leaves, wood, and bark.” The text is signed by the scientific witness, "Abbate" Bani de Montis from Heidelberg.

Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria (1548–1626) was a notable patron of the arts and sciences during his reign.

Tobacco Treatments

The second handwritten passage describes two medical anecdotes involving the innovative use of tobacco leaves, a newly introduced treatment from the New World. These stories highlight Camerarius’ pioneering spirit and experimentation with novel remedies.

“The [wound] never wanted to heal firmly, and extremely sharp pains continually afflicted [him]. He was convinced that a piece of iron still remained lodged in his spine. He approached a certain assistant of the Societies (?) to urgently request advice and a remedy. This person had no other suggestion but the use of tobacco, which he prescribed for the patient. Therefore, for three days, the juice of tobacco leaves was dripped onto the wound. At last, the piece of iron was detected by chance, to such an extent that it could be firmly grasped with forceps. What was done? The patient was tied firmly to a bench by his wife, and she extracted the piece of iron, of remarkable size, with the forceps. This was seen before his very eyes on the 4th of November, 1586. This man, healthy and strong, later presented it to his doctor in my presence, [...].

This I wished to add in commendation of the plant [tobacco]:

Bartholomaeus Sel, a citizen and brewer of Munich, in the year 1591, miserably burned his right hand and foot by slipping into boiling beer, and could not heal himself properly. Finally, in November of the year 1594, the humours began to flow again. He applied juice pressed from tobacco leaves, and by soaking a piece of tobacco in the juice and applying it to the affected area, within a few days the tobacco dried out and completely cleansed the humours from the wound.”

Full transcription available upon request.

This extraordinary copy of Camerarius' Kreutterbuch is both a botanical masterpiece and a personal testament to Renaissance science. Enriched with Camerarius’ own drawings, annotations, and groundbreaking medical anecdotes, it offers a rare glimpse into his innovative mind. A unique blend of art, science, and history, this volume stands as a monumental artifact of early modern knowledge and discovery.

Condition: covers rubbed. Several old marginal repairs throughout. Inconsistently browned. Slightly trimmed with minor loss of annotations. 3G4, 4E6 damaged. Lacks most of the index at the end. The illustrations generally in very good condition.

Reference:

For samples of Joachim Camerarius II’s handwriting see the Carolus Clusius correspondence, for example CAM_J012 (1591-11-25) in: Esther van Gelder (ed.), Clusius correspondence. A digital edition-in-progress. 1st release: December 2015. The Hague: Huygens ING. http://clusiuscorrespondence.huygens.knaw.nl (accessed: 27 November 2024).

Asia in the Making of Europe: A century of wonder. University of Chicago Press, 1977.

Bain, The Mattioli Woodblocks (1989).

Bridson-Wendel, Printmaking in the Service of Botany.

Pritzel (2nd ed.), 5990.

BNHCat M 329.

VD16 M 1615.

Nissen BBI, 1311.

Plesch 514.

Durling 3019.

Hunt I, 160.

Provenance:

From the collection of the former Lindau city archivist.