Besler, Basilius; Kilian, W (fec.)
Caryophyllus multiplex, maximus, variegatus [Carnations], Decimusquartus Ordo. Fol. 9
from Hortus Eystettensis, nd [1st ed. 1613, 2nd ed. 1640, 3rd ed. C.1750]. Hand-coloured copper engraving, mounted one-sided, Latin text to verso.
An engraving from the astounding botanical work on the gardens of Eichstätt, commissioned by Bishop Johann Konrad von Gemmingen from Besler. The work took 16 years to complete and the Bishop would be dead before it was complete. The work survived not only the Bishop, but the gardens themselves, as they were destroyed by invading Swiss troops during the Thirty Years War. The original copperplates were used to print a second and third edition, so we are unable to be certain the edition from which this plate comes.