Description
A wonderful landscape botany engraving from the sixteen hundreds by Matthaus Merian & Prince Ludwig 1642. Matthaus Merian 17th Century Pomegranate Shrub390 is decorative with a lovely ribbon at the top of each print and the initials of the society’s person’s prized plant, bush, tree or flower in the lower left. The old German is beautiful and decorative as well.
A charming miniature seventeenth century landscape botanical with the plant and village scene. The book was entitled Der Fruchtbrigenden Geselschaft Nahmen, Vorhaben Germaehide und Woerter by Matthaus (also spelled Mathias) Merian and Prince Ludwig which was published in Frankfort Germany after 25 years of working on the project. Devised as a manual for the Fruchtbringden Gesellschaft Society, founded by Prince Ludwig of Anthan-Kothen to encourage and enlighten the German community with elegant language.
Printing from copper plate engraving during the Seventeenth Century was very new from medieval Sixteenth Century wood block engraving. A thin sheet of copper was attached to a wood block and was cut into by a professional engraver. The surface was so soft that only about 300 pulls could be run and printed by the printing press before it became dull and not usable any longer. An engraver would serve an apprenticeship for years frequently for food, a place to stay and a little money. It would be in the hope of becoming a shop owner like Merian did becoming one of the most important publishers of seventeenth century Germany.
This exceptional 17th Century flower depiction by Matthaus Merian, 17th Century Pomegranate Shrub390, is a copper plate engraving on very fine hand made hand laid rag paper which measures a mere 7 3/4 x 6 1/4″ Call 413-245-4197 with your questions.
See more simple and delicate antique botany engravings.
See Mathias Merian’s Daughter’s amazing work on the transformation and metamorphosis of insects.