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. "Malus punica flore simplici" Original etching. Specimen printed on thick laid paper, apparently without watermark, complete with the imprint of the plate and with good margins, with the text on the reverse as in all the runs after the first, with some tears formerly recomposed in an unprofessional manner, one of which horizontal which runs along the whole sheet in the center, a lack reinstated in the left edge at the bottom with a small loss of engraved part, all clearly visible from the image, in a medium state of conservation and in the traditional watercolor coloring and tempera of 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: 473 x 400