Histoire generale des plantes contenant XVIII. livres egalement departis en deux tomes: Sortie Latine de la Bibliotheque de M. Iaques Dalechamps, puis faite Franc?oise par M. Jean des Moulins [...] Tome premier [-second]

ILLUSTRATED WITH 2731 WOODCUTS IN TEXT

Two volumes, folio (364x209 mm). [4], 960, [36]; [120], 758, [30] pp. Collation: †² A-OOOO⁶; α-κ⁶ a-ttt⁶ vvv⁴. Title pages printed in red and black with a large printer's device in the center. Illustrated with 2731 woodcuts in text. 18^th-century full calf, richly gilt spine with five raised bands and morocco lettering piece, marbled edges and endleaves, green silk bookmarks (slightly rubbed, but well preserved). Ownership entry (repeated several times) of the pharmacist and surgeon Jacques Gassal, who bought the book in 1748 and still owned it in 1755. Tear repaired to the outer margin of the title page of volume one not affecting the text, anciently repaired small paper loss to the lower margin of l. DD3 not touching the text, small loss of paper on the outer margin of l. dd2 not affecting the text, some scattered foxing and staining, but all in all a very good, genuine copy.

First French edition, in the translation by Jean Desmoulins (1530-1620?), considered as most complete up to that date. The first Latin edition had appeared in 1586-87, while a second enlarged French edition will be published in Lyon in 1653.

“Dalechamp is considered by some authorities to have been one of the most erudite of the French botanists of the 16^th century. His book is a compilation of the botanical knowledge available at that date, and is important as it shows another grouping attempt at a classification of the plants which he described. A number of woodcuts were especially made for the book from plants sent to the author by Lobel, L'Ecluse, and others, but for the most part were taken from previously published works” (Hunt, 154).

Dalechamps' work is “regarded as one of the most complete botanical compilations of its time and is supposed to be the first to describe much of the unique botany of the region around Lyons” (Johnston/Cleveland Collections, 129)

Jacques Dalechamp was a pupil of Guillaume Rondelet at Montepellier, where he graduated in 1547, and a regular correspondent of, among others, Conrad Gesner, Joseph Justus Scaliger, Robert Constantin, and Jean Fernel. In 1552 he moved to Lyon, where he became physician at the Hôtel-Dieu.

Italian Union Catalogue, IT\ICCU\SBTE\000143; Pritzel, 2035; Nissen, 447.

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