Beschreibung:

Basilius Besler (1561-1629). Hortus Eystettensis . [Nuremberg]: 1613. 2 volumes, royal broadsheet (555 x 423mm). Letterpress: dedication to Johann Christoph, Prince Bishop of Eichstätt, 2 leaves of privileges for France, Belgium and the Netherlands in roman, italic, or gothic type, 'Ordo' titles printed on plate versos; without descriptive text as issued. Engraved title by Wolfgang Kilian 3 engraved season titles (spring, summer, autumn) by J. Leypold, and 367 engraved plates by Wolfgang Kilian Dominicus Custos Raphael Custos Georg Gärtner Johannes Leypold, Levin van Hulsen, Friedrick van Hulsen, Peter Isselburg Servatius Raeven, Heinrich Ulrich and possibly others, after Daniel Herzog, Georg Gärtner and others, ALL RICHLY COLOURED BY A CONTEMPORARY HAND, the general title and spring season title with black painted border. German common names added to all plants in pencil in a contemporary hand; Linnean names added to many plants in a late 18th-19th-century hand in pencil. (Lower and fore-edge margins of title and letterpress leaves restored, slight surface wear to colouring on title, slight fraying and tears into image expertly repaired in title, Spring title mounted, small holes at corner of autumn title and following 2 plates repaired, some small marginal tears and slight fraying, minor repaired tears touching image in about 40 plates, German caption washed from 2 plates, neat tear in one plate, small marginal section of 3 plates restored.) AN ORIGINAL DRAWING IN WATERCOLOUR OF AN ALOE AMERICANA, whose flowering at Ansbach it commemorates with an inscription dated 1626, is mounted on a new guard at the end, having been lifted from the pastedown. An additional engraving on two sheets of the same Aloe Americana by Wolfgang Kilian and dated 1628 is mounted on two blank leaves, also at the end of volume I. FOLIATION: There are two series of early foliation: 1) at lower right corner, often trimmed, in several sequences: vol. I: [3-6] 7-100; a-z; aa-qq; vol. II: 1-101; 1-84; a-z; aa-tt; 2-8 2) at upper right corner, vol. I: preliminary leaves and season title unnumbered, 1-135 (including the first of the blank leaves at end), vol. II: 1-247 (including season titles, blank interim leaves and the first of the blank leaves at end). The lower sequence, presumably the earlier of the two and certainly written before the book was bound, suggests that two further leaves of preliminaries (presumably the portrait of Besler and address to the reader) and the winter season title may have been present when the sheets were first assembled. However they were almost certainly omitted before the volume was bound, as they are not missed by the second, also early, sequence of foliation. Marginal repair shows also that the title was originally bound at the beginning of the Spring section (as usual); it is now bound at the beginning of the volume containing winter flowers. PAPER: watermarked with one of at least three versions of pine-cone on a cup within armorial shield (very similar to Briquet 2122), paper of varying thickness, one sheet without watermark; blank leaves bound in watermarked with crown with initials HS, very similar to Piccard Kronen XIV, 33, located to Augsburg and vicinity, 1618-1632. The original drawing of the Aloe Americana is on paper marked with the arms of Kaufbeuren, Swabia. BINDING: contemporary German blindtooled pigskin over thick pasteboard, sides with concentric rolls of palmettes, heads-in-medallion, flowers, and arabesques, an arabesque medallion deeply sunk at centre, spine undecorated, green edges (rebacked preserving original backstrip, corners repaired, evidence of two cloth fore-edge ties, slightly rubbed and very slightly soiled). Blank leaves are bound in at the end of each season and at the end of volume I, with the instruction for their insertion written in a contemporary hand on the verso of the preceding plate. Eight additional leaves are called for at the end of summer (all are present), 3 at t