Trew, Christoph Jakob

Folio (536 x 368mm), 124 fine hand-coloured engraved plates (on 123 leaves, 121/122 being a double, see note) by Johann Michael Seligmann, Johann Michael Stock, and Adam Ludwig Wirsing, after Georg Dionysus Ehret, Barbara Regina Dietzsch, Nikolaus Friederich Eisenberger, and others, old half calf, title-page and text not present, plate 1 creased, rubbed and frayed at edges, remainder of plates generally clean and bright with occasional marginal finger soiling or minor creasing, binding a bit worn; sold as a collection of plates not subject to return

Dunthorne, 310; Great Flower Books, p.78; Nissen BBI 1995; Stafleu TL2 15.130

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A comprehensive series of magnificent plates from this beautiful work. Christoph Jakob Trew's Hortus nitidissimis... floribus is a gallery of the most colourful and ravishing flowers that could be grown in European gardens, including tulips, hyacinths, ranunculi, and roses. On many of the plates, the opacity of the finely applied gouache makes the image appear as a painting rather than an engraved or etched plate. This is especially the case with the tulips depicted, which are akin to some of the great studies on vellum executed by botanical artists of the seventeenth century, the golden age of tulipomania. The plates are numbered from 1 to 136 (plate 122/122 being a double), lacking plates 14, 17, 23, 42, 44, 51, 73, 78, 81, 94, 126, and 130).