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Boraginaceae - Lycopsis arvensis From: Flora batava by Jan Kops and others. Amsterdam, J.C. Sepp, 1807, volume 2 (plate 92). Hand-coloured engraving (sheet 225 x 278 mm). Text enclosed. € 200
The
Flora batava, a monumental work forming a beautifully illustrated survey
of all indigenous plants in the Netherlands. It was started in 1800 by Jan Kops,
a Dutch agronomist and professor of botany at Utrecht. The first 10 volumes
constitute all that was prepared and issued under his supervision. When finished
at last in 1934, Willem Jan Lütjeharms was the editor for volume 28, in which he
concludes that this work has ended now and that publication took longer than any
comparable foreign flora: De Flora Batava heeft langer geleefd dan een der met
dit werk vergelijkbare buitenlandsche plaatwerken. The long publication period
reflects the change in the technique of its illustrations. Initially
copper-engravings were used, followed by lithographs, all coloured by hand, but
from volume 25 colour-printing was gradually introduced. Also several artists
were involved, but the plates are not signed, nor much information is given
about them. Most plates in the first 3 volumes were illustrated by Georg Jacob
Johann van Os. He was born in 1782 in The Hague and settled in Paris in 1826,
where he worked for the Sèvres porcelain factory and was a painter of flower and
fruit pieces, still lifes, etc. These early, finely engraved plates are
exquisitely coloured by hand. Each plate is accompanied by a text in Dutch and
French. The first publisher, J.C. Sepp en Zoon, was renowned for its scientific
colour-plate books. The work was issued in 8vo and 4to. This plate is in the
most desirable 4to format.* Pritzel 4822; Jackson p. 324; Nissen BBI 2247; Great flower books p. 63; Landwehr 60; Stafleu & Cowan 3874; Sam Segal: Flowers and nature pp. 250-251 (Georgius Jacobus Johannes van Os); Johnston 663; A hundred highlights from the Koninklijke Bibliotheek 70. www.meemelink.com · index · Boraginaceae |