1633 "The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes" by John Gerard

Item Details

The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes, by John Gerard, in the edition ‘enlarged and amended’ by Thomas Johnson in 1633. The Herball was the most well-known book on botany in English during the 17th century and made its author a household name, according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

The book consists primarily of a translation of the Pemptades of the Flemish botanist Rembert Dodoens begun by Dr. Priest, with many additions of English flora by Gerard, and a very large number of woodcuts added from many sources in the edition brought out by Johnson. It is rebacked in a non-original leather binding but incorporates the original 1633 folio pages. The book is written in eloquent early modern English prose with a plenitude of classical references and literary interest.

The many and wonderful illustrations in the book begin with the frontispiece attributed to John Payne (whom the National Portrait Gallery describes as ’ the finest native-born engraver working during the reign of Charles I’), which depicts among other figures Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, and Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and nut trees, along with the ancient father of botany, Theophrastus, and the Roman herbalist Dioscorides, and Payne’s engraving of Gerard. (See link below.)

The opening pages feature an epistle dedicated to Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley, followed by multiple Latin notes and epigrams, and prefaces to the reader by Thomas George and Thomas Johnson. The book is illustrated with engravings of a multitudinous assortment of plants, and many hundreds of woodcuts of leaves illustrate the pages. Overall, a fascinating glimpse at both botany and the history of English scientific and literary culture in the early modern period.

Condition

-The binding of this book appears very recent, though the folio pages are themselves nearly 400 years old.
-Some disintegration and tearing is apparent to the edges of many of the pages, particularly at the beginning of the volume.

Dimensions

Item #

15CIN344-248

Additional Information

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry for John Gerard, The National Portrait Gallery attribution of frontispiece to John Payne