Sweert, Emanuel.

[Lilies] Martagon multis et magnis forib[us] [sic] luteis alios superans /Martagon flauo sub uiridi Color, Pl 51.

Frankfurt: 1614. A pair of visually striking yellow lilies by the Dutch painter and horticulturist Emanuel Sweert (1522 - 1612), copper plate engraving with later hand color. Plate 51 From Sweert's "Florilegium Amplissumum et Selectissimum," considered to be the first nursery man's catalogue and published in Frankfurt am Main in 1612. The Florilegium was made by Sweert as a guide to his available plant stock for the Frankfurt Fair, at the time that Sweert was working as head of gardens for Emperor Rudolf II in Vienna. The plates depict 560 bulbs and flowers and were based on the Johann Theodore de Bry Florilegium which in turn was based on one by Pierre Vallet. The engravings became so popular that there were six editions of the work; in the following years a mania for tulips swept Europe. Impression size: 8 x 13 3/8". Paper size: 10 1/4 x 16" Very good condition. Item #16257

Price: $750.00