Engraved frontispiece portrait of Knorr by J. A. Schweikart after J. E. Ihle, title-pages in Latin and German, text in parallel columns of Latin and German, handcolored engraved section title. Illustration: 300 fine hand colored engraved botanical plates by Knorr.

2 volumes, folio (15 1/4 x 9 5/8 in.; 388 x 244 mm). Binding: Bound to style in eighteenth-century diced russia gilt, flat spines divided into seven compartments by neoclassical rolls, two morocco labels, covers with wide decorative borders composed from fillets and roll tools.



A fresh clean copy with only occasional minor spotting and thumb-soiling.  Binding with only very minor wear.

Cf. Great Flower Books, p. 62; cf. Hunt 538; cf. Nissen 1081

A fresh clean copy with only occasional minor spotting and thumb-soiling. Binding with only very minor wear.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

"The loveliest of the German flower books" (Nissen). The very rare third edition of  Knorr's botanical masterpiece.

The very fine plates were all drawn and engraved by Knorr, who also conceived the idea of the work. The first edition was published between 1750 and 1772 and Knorr (who died in 1761) did not live to see it completed. The text was prepared by Philipp Friedrich Gmelin and Georg Rudolf Bohmer. The present issue is the third but paradoxically it appears to be the rarest. Of the handful of copies that have sold at auction over the past twenty-five years, only one was from the third issue: an incomplete copy consisting of the second volume only. There is some confusion about the correct number of plates. The present copy is complete with 300 plates, but this includes plate 128 in vol. I, which displays two specimens of roses numbered (according to the original numbering system) R8 and R9. This "double" plate led to the assertion that 301 plates was the correct number. The titles on the plates are in Latin and German. The Latin titles employ a mixture of Linnaean and pre-Linnaean descriptive nomenclature (follow🔯ing Tournefort and others). The accompanying text in Latin and German includes each plant's name, its synonyms, its natural history, and ends (where appropriate) with notes about its usefulness to medicine.