Leonhard Fuchs; Albrecht Meyer; Heinrich Füllmaurer - Large folio with woodcut in hand colour: Butterbur [Pestilentzwurtz, Petasites hybridus] - 1543

ORIGINAL LEAF FROM THE SCARCE GERMAN FOLIO EDITION of 1543!

Folio with large woodcut to one leaf. 34.5 x 22.3 cm !!

450 + folio woodcut with fine later hand colour.

Fuch’s work and its beautiful illustrations effected a revolution in the natural sciences, comparable to that of Copernicus in astronomy and Vesalius in anatomy, both of which were published the following year, 1543.

To effect this reform accurate illustration and identification was the first requirement and it was to this task that Fuchs addressed himself.

Fuchs employed the best artists then available in Basle: Albrecht Meyer did the drawings, Heinrich Füllmaurer transferred them to the woodblocks, and they were cut by Veit Rudolph Speckle. All three are depicted in the book, the first time that book illustrators are themselves portrayed and named. These illustrations set a new standard for botanical depiction and were some of the most influential in botanical history, being copied for innumerable works well into the 18th century.

Some light fingering and very light vertical crease. Small rust spot.