Nuremberg: hothouse of botanical illustrationStaff: Heather
Pardoe & Maureen Lazarus Research on our collection of botanical
illustrations has revealed many connections with the city of
Nuremberg. For example, in 2001 we acquired an original hand-
coloured engraving from the Hortus Eystettensis (1613), a
magnificent florilegium created by the Nuremberg apothecary,
Basilius Besler (1561-1629) which recorded all the plants in the
garden of the Bishop of Eichstatt, Conrad von Gemmingen.
Nuremberg was also the home of Christoph Jacob Trew (1695-1769),
an influential physician, anatomist and botanist. Trew was an
important patron who commissioned the master artist Georg
Dionysius Ehret to produce illustrations for Plantae Selectae
(1750–73), one of the great botanical iconographies. The Museum
holds 27 loose prints from this work. This research project will
explore the development of Nuremberg as a centre for excellence
in botanical illustration and publication. The links with our
collections will be described and