| Record ID | cp013446 |
| Voet reference number | 1006 |
| Museum Plantin-Moretus | |
| Author | Carolus CLUSIUS (DE L’ECLUSE or L’ESCLUSE) |
| Title page transcription | CAROLI ‖ CLVSII ATREBAT. ‖ Rariorum aliquot stirpium ‖ per Hispanias 9a-b obseruatarum ‖ Historia, ‖ LIBRIS DVOBVS ‖ expressa: ‖ AD ‖ MAXIMILIANVM II. ‖ IMPERATOREM. ‖ ⊕ 29 ‖ ANTVERPIÆ, ‖ Ex officina Christophori Plantini, ‖ Architypographi Regij: ‖ M.D.LXXVI. |
| Collation | 8⁰ [135]: A-Z⁸, a-1⁸; pages 1-529, [530-544] |
| Fingerprint | |
| Number of sheets | |
| Pages | [1]: Title [2]: Privilege (Brussels, 30 July 1575, signed by F. Blijleven) 3-6: Invictissimo…imperatori Maximiliano II. &c. (s. Carolus Clusius, Vienna, 1 January 1575; italic type, words in roman type) 7-10: Benevolo lectori 11-508: Text (italic type, parts and marginals in roman type and greek type, words in gothic type) 509-529: Appendix (italic type, parts and marginals in roman type) [530]: Blank [531-540]: Indices (on two columns, parts in greek type) [541]: approbation (s. Sebastianus Baer Delphius, Antwerp) [542]: ANTVERPIÆ ‖ EXCVDEBAT CHRISTOPHORVS PLANTINVS ‖ ARCHITYPOGRAPHVS REGIVS, ANNO ‖ CIƆ. IƆ. LXXVI. QVARTO ‖ KALEND. MARTII [543-544]: Blank |
| Edition information | |
| Illustrations | Woodcuts: 233 reproductions of plants in varying dimensions (average: 130 × 70). See in Notes |
| Copies | Museum Plantin-Moretus - A 585 - R 55.15 (with corrections and annotations of Clusius in view of a new edition)KBR Royal Library of Belgium - (Copy with autographed dedication of Clusius to Busbequius)Cambridge University Library of Erlangen-Nürnberg Ghent University Library KB National Library of the Netherlands Leiden University Libraries British Library London Utrecht University Library Vatican Apostolic Library Austrian National Library Vienna University Library Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research Vienna |
| Bibliographical references | Ruelens-de Backer, page 172 (1576, no. 12) Bib. Belgica (1964-1970 éd.), III, pages 759-767 Nissen, C. Die Botanische Buchillustration (2. Aufl.), II, no. 370 Clusius-Festschrift, page 13, no. 10. |
| Online bibliographical references | |
| Note 1 | Contains: a) The botanical descriptions in two 'books' of the plants growing in Spain and Portugal (after the personal observations of the author during his visit to the Peninsula in 1564-1565), with references to plants in Southern France (observed by Clusius during his stay at Montpellier, 1551-1554); b) 'Appendix peregrinarum et elegantium nonnullarum plantarum, ex Thracia usque delatarum' (pages 509-529, with 8 woodcuts), being a study of flowers from 'Thracia' (European Turkey). |
| Note 2 | Clusius must have contacted Plantin shortly after his return from Spain for the edition of this work and in fact the larger part of the illustrations were executed in 1567-1569 (see further in text; cf. also Clusius's letter to Crato, 25 November 1567: Suppl. Corr., no. 46), but, as the author explains in the foreword to the reader, he got so upset by the troubles in the Netherlands, that he was not able to write the accompanying descriptions immediately. His subsequent move from the Netherlands to Austria did again postpone the project. This long delay in printing his notes on the botany of Spain and Portugal explains why Clusius found it indicated to add to the description of the plants of the Peninsula an 'appendix' on flowers from Turkey (including the tulip) he had been able to study on his arrival in Austria and Hungary. |
| Note 3 | In the foreword to the reader Clusius tells also that on his return from Spain he had, through Plantin but under his personal supervision, the reproductions of plants depicted on wood-blocks to have them cut for reproduction. The Plantinian Archives give some details on this operation. The drawings were executed by Pieter van der Borcht, then living at Malines: on 27 October 1567 Plantin notes the reception of 'encores 52 figures du livre de M. Charles' executed by Van der Borcht (Arch. 31, folio 90). The 'encores' let us suppose that the other 'figures' had already been finished and received, but this is not explicitly mentioned. They were cut into wood by Gerard Janssen van Kampen at Breda, who received the first lot of 49 wood-blocks prepared for cutting on 21 November 1567 (Arch. 31, folio 77: with the enumeration of the plants depicted on the blocks), and worked on it through 1568 and 1569 (Arch. 17, folio 52; 46, folio 192; 47, folio 60). Cf. also Rooses, Musée, pages 178, 184, 222. |
| Note 4 | In his foreword to the reader Clusius stresses the fact that he borrowed 6 illustrations from Dodonaeus's Purgantium historia (see no. cp010367), published in 1574 (the execution of these illustrations, however, was also started in 1567, at about the same time as those for Clusius's works). In fact, the number of illustrations figuring in both Clusius's publication and Dodonaeus's Purgantium historia is much larger (in all 39): Dodonaeus borrowed in his turn a number of illustrations made for his friend's study on Spanish botany. |
| Note 5 | In a letter to Crato, Ortelius wrote on 21 December 1574 'Clusii herbariae observationes sub praelo sunt' (Suppl. Corr., no. 114), but this was a premature statement. It must be said that at that time Clusius himself was believing his work would be ready for the Frankfurt Lent Fair of 1574 (letters to Camerarius, 4 September 1574 and 16 October 1574: Hunger, II, pages 300 and 303). On 24 August 1575 Clusius told Camerarius that Plantin already had his manuscript for a long time in his possession but had promised to print it in time for the next Frankfurt Fair; as, however, Plantin left with his wife for a trip to Paris, the scholar was afraid that this would cause a new delay (Hunger, II, page 311). He could, however, announce some months later that Plantin, in a letter of 8 October 1575, had affirmed to have given that same day the text to a compositor. On the reception of the good news Clusius had immediately dispatched an Appendix of 6 chapters 'in qua de orientalibus quibusdam plantis ago' (= the 'Appendix peregrinarum et elegantium nonnullarum plantarum, ex Thracia usque delatarum'), asking to add it to the publication (letter to Camerarius, 8 November 1575: Hunger, II, page 317). Plantin himself wrote to Camerarius on 13 January 1576 and to de Cayas on 31 January 1576 that he was printing Clusius's Observationes (Corr., V, nos. 695 and 699). The publication was actually finished, according to the colophon, on 27 February 1576. In the meantime, as the work proceeded, Plantin sent copies of the finished sheets to Clusius. In his letter of 10 March 1576 to Camerarius, the botanist explains that he had not yet received a complete copy from Plantin, but that he had found some errors in the sheets already mailed, which he details for the benefit of his friend (Hunger, II, page 320). Later, in a letter of 20 August 1577, always to Camerarius, he tells that some poems by friends (are quoted: Posthius and Nicasius Ellebodius) he mailed to Plantin to be inserted in the Observationes have not been reproduced. He had complained to Plantin, but so far without receiving an answer (Hunger, II, page 347). |
| Note 6 | Not listed in M 296 or M 164. |
| Further reading |
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