I. Nürnbergische Hesperides, Oder Gründliche Beschreibung Der Edlen Citronat, Citronen, und Pomerantzen-Früchte, Wie...

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Folio. Contemporary pigskin bindings of the period. 2 volumes: I.) 4, 255 pp., 4 (register), 17 pp. (Obeliskcus Constantinopolitanus) II.) 5, 10 (introduction), 6, 239 pp., 2; The two volumes illustrated with 2 fine engraved frontispieces, 26 engraved vignettes and 245 (of 250) (including 24 folded) engraved plates. The following five plates are missing: Plate 172 b-d in volume I, and plate 185 & 232(b) in volume II. It seems, that these five plates were not bound in from the beginning on. All engravings are in fine strong impressions present. Most of these beautiful plates are showing fine engravings of citrus and pomeranze fruits in combination with baroque gardens. The focus of the illustrations is in the depictions of the incredibly many varieties of lemons and pomeranzes (bitter oranges), further also various exotic plants and fruits like the pineapple, a blooming cactus or even coconut fruits are depicted. Between the four various chapters of these two books allegoric garden scenes with engraved gods were bound in, too. Most of these fullpage and folded plates, are depicting these fruits and plants in combination with beautiful engraved scenes of royal and private gardens, castles, small villages, yards and houses of merchants or smaller royal houses in and around in Southern Germany (many around Nürnberg) and in Northern Italy. The second volume describes very extensive these gardens and locations in Northern Italy around lake Garda, Lago di Nervi, Verona, Padua, Bergamo, Genua, etc. Many of these decorative fruits were combined on the engraving, mostly at the bottom, with a view of the place where this particulary fruit or plant was grown or cultivated, naming very often also the owner of this place. Further all plates are accomponied by a text page with a intensive description on this particulary plant. All these beautiful, extremely carefully engraved plates take the reader through a remarkable collection of places with gardens and greenhouses in northern Italy and to places north of the Alps in southern Bavaria around Nuremberg, Bayreuth and Passau as a kind of perfect book describing the gardening and the cultivation of lemons and pomeranzes, unusual flowers and also of some other rare tropical plants to be found in Central Europe at the beginning of the 18th century. The illustations of these two volumes consist further a map of the,Lake of Garda', further a folded view of the Genuese village,S. Pietro d'Arena' and the,Palazzo Doria' in Genua. A great example of this rare botanical series in an pig-skin binding of the period. The spines in 5 compartments. The covers of both volumes richly decorative blindpressed. It consists the 1708 published masterpiece,Nürnbergische Hesperides, oder gründliche Beschreibung der edlen Citronat / Citronen und Pomeranzen-Früchte...' and the very rare 1714 published second volume, titled:,Continuation der Nürnbergischen Hesperidum, oder fernere gründliche Beschreibungn der edlen Citronat / Citronen / und Pomeranzen-Früchte...'. Further it should be noted, that at the end of volume I the rare appendix,Obeliscus Constantinopolitanus...' is also present. It is one of the most beautiful illustrated works of a baroque masterpiece. First and only edition. Volckamer was a wealthy Nurnberg merchant and one of the first to cultivate citrus north of the Alps.