Early Floral Engravings: All 110 Plates from the 1612 Florilegium, by Emanuel Sweerts

Early Floral Engravings: All 110 Plates from the 1612 Florilegium, by Emanuel Sweerts. 1976 softcover. 233 pages, nice condition.

Emanuel Sweerts (1552–1612) was a Dutch painter and nurseryman noted for his publication in 1612 of Florilegium Amplissimum et Selectissimum. Sweerts was born at Zevenbergen and lived in a period when new plants from across the world were being introduced to Europe via Dutch, English and French ships. To meet the burgeoning interest in plants by the public, nurseries were being established by wealthy merchants in order to meet the demand. Botanical illustration suddenly found a new outlet in the production of nursery catalogs. Sweerts prepared his Florilegium as a guide of his available stock for the Frankfurt Fair of 1612. The plates, depicting some 560 bulbs and flowers, were from the Johann Theodore de Bry Florilegium, which in turn was based on that by Pierre Vallet. His attractively depicted bulbs sparked their popularity, leading to 6 editions of the work between 1612 and 1647.