Gerard 1597 Herball

Peionie

GERARDE, J. The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes... London, John Norton, 1597. Folio (337 x 221 mm). pp. (xx), 1392, (72), with engraved title, woodcutcoat-of-arms on verso of title, engraved portrait of Gerarde, and 2144 woodcuts in the text;

First edition of the most famous English herbal, and a very fine copy. This work is usually found in poor state, especially the title engaving, which is often damaged or badly rubbed. The title in this copy is in an excellent impression. The history of the production of Gerarde's 'Herball' has not been entirely elucidated. It seems that the publisher had commissioned Dr. Robert Priest to translate into English Dodoens' 'Historiae pemptades sex' (1583), but that Priest died before completing the task. Gerarde was then brought in, and finished the translation, while changing the system of classification from that of Dodoens (a pharmacological one) to Lobel (an attempt at a natural system), and adding notes and observations of his own. The woodcuts were hired from the Frankfurt publisher of Tabernaemontanus, and were somewhat haphazardly wedded to the text. At one point Norton brought in Lobel to correct some of Gerarde's more egregrious errors (Lobel claimed to have discovered over 1000). Gerarde's own contribution may be no more than his appealing Elizabethan prose style and his description of the 'Virginian potato'. One of the few woodcuts that is original in this work is in fact the first illustration of the potato. The Tabernaemontanus cuts were based on the images of Fuchs, Brunfels, Mattioli, and the Flemish botanists published by Plantin (Dodoens, L'Écluse, et al). Interestingly, the portrait of Gerarde, who is depicted aged 53 holding a potato flower, is dated 1598. Both the engraved title and the portrait are by William Rogers, and the portrait exists both in an unsigned state, and signed 'WR'. The portrait in this copy is unsigned. We have heard of two copies in which the portrait, which is printed on the verso of the second title page of Gerarde's address to the reader, is absent; the page being blank. Provenance: Horticultural Society of New York, bequest of Kenneth K. Mackenzie October 1934, with bookplate; Robert de Belder. Henrey 154; Hunt 175; Johnston, The Cleveland herbal, botanical and horticultural collections, 143.



GERARDE, J. The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. Gathered by John Gerarde of London Master in Chirvrgerie. Very much Enlarged and Amended by Thomas Johnson Citizen and Apothecarye of London. London, A.I.I. Norton & R. Whitakers, 1633. Folio. pp. (36), 1630, (48), with beautifully engraved allegorical title-page and 2766 woodcuts.

Nissen BBI, 698; Hunt 223. A fine copy of the second edition of this important herbal. "This is thefirst edition enlarged and edited by Thomas Johnson who corrected many of Gerard's more gullible errors, and improved the accuracy of the illustrations by using Plantin's woodcuts" (Hunt). The 2766 block were previously used in the botanical books published by Plantin and thus makes this edition and the third edition of 1636, the most important English herbal of the period.
  
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