Michael Rupert Besler (1607-1661). Gazophylacium rerum naturalium e regno vegetabili, animali et minerali . [Nuremberg:] 1642. Broadsheet 2° (399 x 280mm). Engraved title coloured by a contemporary hand and heightened in gold, an uncoloured copy bound in as frontispiece, engraved border of roses printed in orange and green cut out and mounted, the same printed in black cut out and mounted opposite, 34 engraved plates of specimens and curiosities from Besler's cabinet, opposite each plate is the original drawing in black ink and watercolour of the specimen, all but one cut out and mounted. Plates and drawings on paper watermarked with one of several versions of an R in an armorial shield (similar to Briquet 8978), two sheets with the arms of Nuremberg, front endleaf with bear in shield (not in Briquet or Piccard). (Front pastedown dampstained, light dampstain in uncoloured title and small marginal dampstain in one other plate, occasional spotting.) ?Late 17th-century calf over thick wooden boards elaborately tooled to a central lozenge design with massed small floral, tendril, rosette and fan tools, at the centre and each corner are inset painted roses (front) or carnations (back), two fore-edge catches on upper cover (rubbed, some loss of leather on spine, lacking clasps). Provenance : Christoph Gottlieb Scheurl von Defersdorf (gift inscription on front flyleaf dated Nuremberg, 24 December 1762 to:) -- Christoph Jacob Trew (1695-1769) -- old shelfmark label 'C103' tipped to front pastedown -- [sale Munich, Hartung & Hartung, November 1988, lot 420]. UNIQUE COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION, CONTAINING ORIGINAL DRAWINGS FOR THE ENGRAVINGS AND FORMERLY BELONGING TO THE GREAT GERMAN NATURALIST, CHRISTOPH JACOB TREW. It is very likely that this was the author's own copy. It was presented in 1762 to Trew by Christoph Gottlieb Scheurl, a kinsman of Christoph Theophilo Scheurl (1641-1712), who married Michael Rupert Besler's daughter, Rebecca Barbara. The Gazophylacium portrays the plants, animals and minerals, with occasional brief identifying or descriptive captions on the plate, in the natural history cabinet first formed by Basilius Besler and his brother Hieronymous, and continued by Hieronymous's son, Michael Rupert Besler. The drawings appear to be the originals for the engraving opposite; all but the coins are in reverse image. The drawings of animal, bird, and mineral specimens and other objects are by an accomplished amateur, while the botanical drawings are less skillful; they are enhanced by the talented engraver and made decorative by the addition of elegant flower pots. This copy is further remarkable for its binding, which it elaborately gilt and decorated with original paintings in gouache of roses and carnations inlaid into the corners and centre of each cover. It is tempting to see this binding as representing Scheurl's association with the Nuremberg society, the Blumenorden, to which another family member, Johann Karl, belonged. In presenting this copy to Trew in 1762, Christoph Gottlieb Scheurl pays tribute to the botanist's great library. The present volume would have found a special place in Trew's collection, as Trew made a special study of Basilius Besler's great florilegium, the Hortus Eystettensis . Copies of the first edition are rare; it was reprinted in 1716, and it is this reprint that is more commonly found in most libraries (i.e. the earliest edition listed in NUC is 1716). Hunt 238; Nissen ZBI 346; Pritzel 747.
Michael Rupert Besler (1607-1661). Gazophylacium rerum naturalium e regno vegetabili, animali et minerali . [Nuremberg:] 1642. Broadsheet 2° (399 x 280mm). Engraved title coloured by a contemporary hand and heightened in gold, an uncoloured copy bound in as frontispiece, engraved border of roses printed in orange and green cut out and mounted, the same printed in black cut out and mounted opposite, 34 engraved plates of specimens and curiosities from Besler's cabinet, opposite each plate is the original drawing in black ink and watercolour of the specimen, all but one cut out and mounted. Plates and drawings on paper watermarked with one of several versions of an R in an armorial shield (similar to Briquet 8978), two sheets with the arms of Nuremberg, front endleaf with bear in shield (not in Briquet or Piccard). (Front pastedown dampstained, light dampstain in uncoloured title and small marginal dampstain in one other plate, occasional spotting.) ?Late 17th-century calf over thick wooden boards elaborately tooled to a central lozenge design with massed small floral, tendril, rosette and fan tools, at the centre and each corner are inset painted roses (front) or carnations (back), two fore-edge catches on upper cover (rubbed, some loss of leather on spine, lacking clasps). Provenance : Christoph Gottlieb Scheurl von Defersdorf (gift inscription on front flyleaf dated Nuremberg, 24 December 1762 to:) -- Christoph Jacob Trew (1695-1769) -- old shelfmark label 'C103' tipped to front pastedown -- [sale Munich, Hartung & Hartung, November 1988, lot 420]. UNIQUE COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION, CONTAINING ORIGINAL DRAWINGS FOR THE ENGRAVINGS AND FORMERLY BELONGING TO THE GREAT GERMAN NATURALIST, CHRISTOPH JACOB TREW. It is very likely that this was the author's own copy. It was presented in 1762 to Trew by Christoph Gottlieb Scheurl, a kinsman of Christoph Theophilo Scheurl (1641-1712), who married Michael Rupert Besler's daughter, Rebecca Barbara. The Gazophylacium portrays the plants, animals and minerals, with occasional brief identifying or descriptive captions on the plate, in the natural history cabinet first formed by Basilius Besler and his brother Hieronymous, and continued by Hieronymous's son, Michael Rupert Besler. The drawings appear to be the originals for the engraving opposite; all but the coins are in reverse image. The drawings of animal, bird, and mineral specimens and other objects are by an accomplished amateur, while the botanical drawings are less skillful; they are enhanced by the talented engraver and made decorative by the addition of elegant flower pots. This copy is further remarkable for its binding, which it elaborately gilt and decorated with original paintings in gouache of roses and carnations inlaid into the corners and centre of each cover. It is tempting to see this binding as representing Scheurl's association with the Nuremberg society, the Blumenorden, to which another family member, Johann Karl, belonged. In presenting this copy to Trew in 1762, Christoph Gottlieb Scheurl pays tribute to the botanist's great library. The present volume would have found a special place in Trew's collection, as Trew made a special study of Basilius Besler's great florilegium, the Hortus Eystettensis . Copies of the first edition are rare; it was reprinted in 1716, and it is this reprint that is more commonly found in most libraries (i.e. the earliest edition listed in NUC is 1716). Hunt 238; Nissen ZBI 346; Pritzel 747.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
