Rostock, Johann Hallervord, 1639. 4to. In contemporary full vellum. Title in contentemporary hand to spine. Gilt ornamentation to spine and gilt frames to boards. All edges gilt. Extremities with light soiling and a few dots and marks. Two previous owner's names in near contemporary hand to title-page. Three small worm-tracts affecting first few leaves, otherwise internally very nice and clean. (16), 80, 184, 19, (17), (32), (16) pp.
Exceedingly rare first edition of Paulli’s first substantial botanical work - and the first botanical university textbook in Denmark - which laid the foundation for his magnum opus, the greatest illustrated work in Danish book-production, and the largest Flora ever produced, namely that of Flora Danica. The present work deals with the medicinal properties of various substances and is considered one of Paulli's most important contributions to the field of medicine. In the preface to Flora Danica, Simon Paulli writes that the plant descriptions are drawn from Dodoens but organized into four groups based on the flowering time. One might think that this was meant as a simple and understandable system for laypeople, but the system was not specifically created for this work. In Flora Danica, Paulli employed a classification that he had already developed and presented in the present work, the same year he arrived in Copenhagen. Since Simon Paulli originally wrote Flora Danica in Latin and had it translated with the help of a Danish student, it is reasonable to assume that he drew much of the material directly from this book. (See Bjerke, “De Lærdeste Lægers Urtegaarde”). Simon Paulli (1603–1680) was a Danish physician and naturalist and made significant contributions to the fields of medicine and botany during the 17th century. Paulli was born in Rostock, Germany, and later moved to Denmark. He served as a professor of medicine at the University of Copenhagen and became the personal physician to King Christian IV of Denmark. In the botanical realm, Paulli is particularly known for his work ""Flora Danica,"". Published in the mid-17th century, ""Flora Danica"" was one of the earliest works of its kind and contributed to the scientific understanding of plant life in Denmark. Apart from his botanical contributions, Simon Paulli made important strides in the field of medicine, and he is recognized for his studies on human anatomy. Simon Paulli's impact on botany and medicine, particularly in Scandinavia, has left a lasting legacy in the history of science.
Kiøbenhafn, Melchiore Martzan, (1647-) 1648. 4to. (19,2x14,5 cm.). Senere helldrbd. med rig rygforgyldning (fra ca 1850). Med en krakelering i midten af ryggen der er repareret, ligesom kapitæler og false. Kobberstukket portræt af Paulli (efter Karel van Mander), kobberstukket titelblad afbildende gudinden Flora siddende i en portal hvorigennem der er udsigt til byens tårne (disse to kobbere tæt beskåret i ene margin og opklæbet). De 4 deltitelblade med de såkaldte årstidkobbere mangler. (36),(786 (= fol 1-393)),(94) pp. samt 376 helsides træsnit af planter på 188 blade. De 4 deltitelblade som hører til billeddelen er tilstede.Til slut kolofonbladet med Plantin's helsides træskårne bogtrykkermærke. Billeddelen har tilskrifter i gl. hånd med danske navne og undertiden anføres deres brug. Marginalnoterne er her tæt beskåret ved ombindingen. Trykt på svært papir, eksemplaret er i god stand med kun lette brugsspor. Registerbladene (94) omfatter 4 registre, 3 sprogregistre (latin, tysk, dansk) og et ""sygdomsregister"".
Den sjældne originaludgave af det første danske Herbarium, der som titelbladet angiver både skulle tjene som en botanik, men også som en lægebog. Bogen er et af 16oo-tallets finest udstyrede danske værker. I et brev dateret 1645 opfordrer Christian IV Collegium Medicum til at forfatte et værk, som skulle indeholde allehånde råd mod sygdomme, og oplysning om, hvor folk kunne finde urterne således at de uden de store omkostninger kunne kurere sig selv når sygdom opstod. Kollegiet overdrog opgaven hermed til Simon Paulli. En af grundene til, at bogen kom i et så fint udstyr er, at forlæggeren Balthasar Moret fra Plantin-trykkeriet i Antwerpen overlod de af ham ejede botaniske træsnit, som tidligere havde været anvendt i Tabermontanus' værker, til bogens illustrationsdel. Da teksten i vid udstrækning bygger på Dodonæus' værk, er kun 224 af de 380 arter som beskrives, danske. - Nissen BBI: 1497. - Birkelund: 50. - Bibl. Danica II:188.
Kiøbenhafn, Melchiore Martzan, (1647-) 1648. 4to. In contemporary half calf with four raised bands. Wear to extremities. Previous owner's name to pasted down front end-paper. Ex-libris pasted on to pasted down front end-paper. Two-line annotation in Latin dated 1712 to front free end-paper. First leaves with marginal dampstaining. F. 379 missing lower outer corner, but a leaf from another copy loosely inserted. Last 188 ff. depicting various flowers with annotations in contemporary hand and with occassional rudimentary handcoloring. With occassional marginal brownspotting throughout. (18), 3-393, (48) ff. + 376 full page woodcuts of plants on 188 ff., frontispiece, engraved half-title and 4 plates depicting the four seasons (complete).
First edition of the first illustrated Danish Herbarium, a seminal work in the history of Danish botanical literature. The work is widely regarded as being one the most beautiful and lavishly illustrated Danish 17th century prints. The first part of this work was published in Copenhagen in 1648. The second part (containing the attractive four woodcut titles and plant woodcuts) was published at Antwerp by Plantin in 1647, the Danish printers not having the facilities or expertise to do the job themselves. Most of the woodcuts are taken from Clusius and L’Obel.Nissen BBI, 1497Birkelund, 50. Biblioteca Danica II, 188.Thesaurus 589.