Botanical Illustrations of Early Herbals

The actual blocks themselves appear to have been used for the last time when Johnson’s edition of Gerard's herbal made its final appearance in London in 1636. Another school of plant illustration is represented in the work of Gesner and Camerarius, with some of Gesner’s drawings being published by Camerarius. In 1751, C. J. Trew published a collection of Gesner’s drawings, many of which had never been seen before; however, it proved impossible to separate the work of the two botanists completely since Gesner’s drawings and blocks had passed through the hands of Camerarius, who incorporated his own with them. A few wood-cuts, however, are undoubtedly Gesner's own work. Professor Treviranus considered that some of the drawings published by Camerarius in connection with his last work were among the best ever produced. These figures are very much more botanical than those of any previous author; they begin to become too botanical for the artist! Among less important botanical wood-engravings of the sixteenth century, we may mention those in Pierre Belon’s works such as ‘De arboribus’ (1553). Passing on to the seventeenth century, we find that Parkinson's 'Paradisus Terrestris' of 1629 contains a considerable proportion of original figures, besides others borrowed from previous writers. The engravings were made in England by Switzer and are poor in quality. In the present chapter no attempt has been made to discuss the illustrations of those herbals (e.g., Turner, Tabernemontanus, Gerard) in which most of the wood-cuts are copied from previous books. <Callout type=