Buchoz, Pierre Joseph | The Great Garden of the Universe

Buchoz, Pierre Joseph

Le grand jardin de l'univers ... Paris: for the author, 1785

Volume 1 only (of 2), folio (450 x 270 mm). Engraved title, 100 handcolored plates; occasional light spotting, pl.37 with an open tear and pl.100 with a neatly repaired tear at lower blank margins, one or two other stray short closed marginal tears, a few leaves trimmed at lower blank margin. Contemporary French red morocco, spines with raised bands in seven compartments, second and third compartments with green morocco labels lettered in gilt, others with repeat gilt motif, boards ruled in gilt, marbled endpapers; hinges cracked but holding, neat repairs at head and foot of spine, labels renewed, rubbed.

An extremely rare work. Stafleu lists only two institutional copies: the Natural History Museum in London, with a complete copy, and the Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden, with a copy of the first volume only. The second volume, not present here, contains 100 plates and was published in 1791. The plates to the present work are irregularly numbered as follows: 1-11, 3, 13, 8, 15-32, 21, 47, 35-40, 12, 23, 43-76, 72, 78-100. Stafleu gives the plate numeration and sequence of the copy at the Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden, which is equally (though differently) erratic—indicating that copies were probably made up from different stocks.

Buchoz, a French physician and naturalist, was responsible for over 500 works, the majority of which are now quite rare. Despite his productivity, Stafleu notes that he "probably had no herbarium of his own," and that the "greater part of his numerous works ... was indeed compiled from the writing of others; an indiscriminate and often unauthorized procedure" (p. 392). A number of his works contained entirely new generic names for plants, making many of his contributions to botanical history novel, though only occasionally useful. Nonetheless, Buchoz's works are known for the beauty of their illustrations.

This is the only copy of Le grand jardin de l'univers that we have been able to trace in the standard auction records.

REFERENCE:

Dunthorne 67; Great Flower Books (1990) p.81; Nissen BBI 289; Pritzel 1331; Stafleu 891

PROVENANCE:

Christie's New York, 17 March 1999, lot 10 (undesignated consignor)