from BASILIUS BESLER 1561 - 1629 "HORTUS HEYSTETTENSIS sive diligens et accurate omnium plantarum, florum, stirpium, et variis orbis terrae partibus, singolari studio collectarum" Altdorf, by Conrad Bauer, 1613 "Basilicum indicum maculatum" Original etching, sheet in sheet very good general state of conservation, without the text on the reverse as in all the first runs, watercolor coloring and tempera of the later era. This magnificent work was conceived to celebrate the beauty of the gardens of the residence of the Bishop of Eichstatt, Johann Conrad von Gemmingen, and saw for over ten years among the best designers and engravers of that period. The curator Basilius Besler was a well-known botanist and pharmacist from Nuremberg. Bibliography Littger “Der Garten von Eichstatt” Cologne 1999. Nissen "Die Botanische Buchillustration" Stuttgart 1966. Pritzel "Thesaurus Literaturae Botanicae" Leipzig 1871-77. Measurements in mm: 479 x 398