from BASILIUS BESLER (1561 - 1629) "HORTUS HEYSTETTENSIS sive diligens et accurate omnium plantarum, florum, stirpium, et variis orbis terrae partibus, singular study collectarum" Nuremberg 1713, centennial edition. "Acanthus Spinosus" Original etching. Nice copy with the text on the reverse as in all the runs after the first, printed on a portion of laid paper without watermark, complete with the imprint of the plate and with good margins, slightly burnished uniformly and with some minimal defects edges such as folds and traces of dirt and foxing, some minimal traces of an old gluing visible on the reverse in the upper corners, overall in excellent general condition. Traditional watercolor coloring and tempera from the later period. 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: 485ca x 400ca