Herbarium diluvianum collectum by SCHEUCHZER, Johann Jakob - 1709

Zürich: David Gessner, 1709. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. Folio (370 x 245 mm). [2], 44 (i.e., 42) pp., including engraved title with large vignette by J.H. Huber after J.M. Füssli, 10 folding engraved plates depicting fossil plants (one printed in brown) bound at the end. Page numbers 33-34 omitted in pagination. 20th century three-quarter calf over black cloth covered boards by Period Binders of Bath, gilt lettered spine, new endpapers (light rubbing of extremities). Text and plates crisp and clean troughout, very minor occasional spotting, small torn-off portion of title at lower inner margin backed by paper (outside print area). Provenance: H.W.J. Van Amerom (bookplate to front pastedown), plates with explanations added in light pencil. Very good copy. ----

FIRST EDITION with plates depicting specimens believed by Scheuchzer to have been relics of Noah's flood. This work firmly entrenched Scheuchzer (1672-1733) as the father of European palaeobotany, and his blend of science influenced by religion domintates this work and the work of others through the nineteenth century. The title vignette after J. M. Fussli by J. H. Huber shows a landscape with Noah's Ark. The beautiful engravings show plant petrefacts, one of them with dendrites in sanguine print, all in excellent impressions. The present volume remained a standard work on the subject until well into the 19th century. References: Nissen, BBI 1752; Pritzel 8173. - Visit our website to see more images!