Documenting Biodiversity

During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, many european explorations to America took place. Among all the things that caught the explorers' atention, were american plants and their fruits, different from anything they ever seen before. This exhibit gathers some original illustrations and documents of those new to them species.

Original engraving included in "Institutiones Rei Herbariae".
Author: Joseph Pitton of Tournefort.
Paris, France. 1700.
Editorial: Typographia regia.

Joseph Pitton of Tournefort was a French botanist, notable for making a clear definition and distinction between genus and species of plants. His grouping of 7,000 species of plants in 700 genera prepared the way for Carlos Linnaeus, who used several of the names and descriptions of Tournefort, and who later gave cacao the scientific name of Thebroma Cacao.
Jasmine was used by the Baroque Italians, in a refined and unique recipe, such as the Aztecs' chocolates scented with flowers.

Original engraving included in "L`Histoire Generale des Voyages".
Author: l'Abbé Antoine François Prévost.
Illustrator: Jacques Nicolas Bellin.
Paris, France. 1746-1759.
Unknown Editorial.

Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles (1697–1763), known as the Abbot Prevost, was a French author and novelist. Of his very remarkable works, the most concise is L'Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut, which was the inspiration of several operas, especially Manon Lescaut de Puccini.

Original engraving included in "L`Histoire Generale des Voyages".
Author: l'Abbé Antoine François Prévost.
Illustrator: Jacques Nicolas Bellin.
Paris, France. 1746-1759.
Unknown Editorial.

Hand-colored etching included in "Herbarium Blackwellianum Emmendatum et Auctum".
Author: Elizabeth Blackwell.
Nuremberg, Germany. 1775.
Editorial: Christopher Jacob Trew.

Hand-colored etching included in "Bilderbuch für Kinder", Sheet 27 of Plants II Series.
Author: Friedrich Justin Bertuch.
Weimar, Germany. 1792-1830.
Editorial: Verlage des Industrie-Comptoirs.

Johann Friedrich Justin Bertuch (1747-1822) was a German publisher and patron of the arts. Between 1790 and 1830 Betruch printed the "Bilderbuch für Kinder", an educational work that appeared in monthly instalments and aimed to "spread the knowledge of the epochs out before children".

Text on Oelbaum-Cacaobaum illustration included in "Bilderbuch für Kinder".
Author: Friedrich Justin Bertuch.
Weimar, Germany. 1792.
Editorial: Verlage des Industrie-Comptoirs.

Johann Friedrich Justin Bertuch was born in Weimar on September 30th, 1747.
After attending the college in Weimar, he studied Theology at the university in Jena,but soon decided to switch to law-school.
In 1773 Bertuch returned to Weimar and started to work for a journal called “Teutscher Merkur”. In early 90ies, he received the princely privilege to put his plans into practise, i.e. to found his “Industrie Comptoir”.

Hand-colored etching included in "Bilderbuch für Kinder", Sheet 75 of Plants XV Series.
Author: Friedrich Justin Bertuch.
Weimar, Germany. 1792-1830.
Editorial: Verlage des Industrie-Comptoirs.

In “Industrie Comptoir”, Friedrich Justin Bertuch was able to combine all his different undertakings and, at times employed up to 600 workers. Bertuch used this growing potential of highly qualified workers for his publishing efforts including his famous “Picture-Book for Children”. He died April 3rd, 1822 in Weimar.

Engraving included in the publication "Dictionnaire pittoresque d'histoire naturelle et des phenomenes de la nature".
Author: M F-E Guerin.
Illustrator: Pedretti, Sc; Drawn by Acarie Baron, Del.
Paris, France. 1834.
Unknown Editorial.

Article on Cacao included in the publication "Nederlandsch Magazijn", Page 300.
Author: Friedrich Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt.
Amsterdam, Netherlands. 1835.
Editorial: Gebroeders Diederichs.

Friedrich Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt (Berlin, September 14th, 1769 - May 6th, 1859) was a Prussian nature explorer. He did research in Central and South America and gave a detailed description of the physical universe.
Von Humboldt was, according to the British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882), the most important scientific traveler of all time.

Article on Cacao included in the publication "Nederlandsch Magazijn", Page 301.
Author: Friedrich Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt.
Amsterdam, Netherlands. 1835.
Editorial: Gebroeders Diederichs.

Article on Cacao tree flowers included in the publication "Album Giornale Letterario e di Belle Arti", Page 16.
Unknown Author.
Rome, Italy. 1836.
Editorial: Tipografia delle Belle Arti.

Hand-colored engraving on steel plate included in "Dictionnaire Pittoresque d'Histoire Naturelle et des Phénomènes de la Nature".
Author: Félix-Edouard Guérin-Méneville.
Paris, France. 1838.
Editorial: Imprimerie de Cosson.

Hand-colored engraving on steel plate included in Unknown publication.
Unknown Author.
Paris, France. 1846.
Editorial: Libraire Encyclopedique de Roret.

Engraving of wild cacao on the banks of the Amazon included in the publication: "Le Tour du Monde", Delivery #30, Travel to the Antilles by Anthony Trollope and Edouard Charton, page 140.
Authors: Anthony Trollope and Edouard Charton.
Paris, France. 1858.
Editorial: Librairie Hachette.

Engraving included in the publication "Das Buch der Welt - Ein Inbegriff des Wissenswürdigen
und Unterhaltendsten aus den Gebieten der Naturgeschichte, Naturlehre, Länder-und Vólkerjunde, Weltgeschichte, Götterlehre u."
Unknown Author.
Stuttgart, Germany. 1857.
Editorial: Hoffmann'sche Berlags-Buchhandlung.

Hand-colored lithography included in "Das Buch der Welt - Ein Inbegriff des Wissenswürdigen und Unterhaltendsten aus den Gebieten der Naturgeschichte, Naturlehre, Länder-und Vólkerkunde, Weltgeschichte, Götterlehre u."
Author: Julius Hoffman.
Stuttgart, Germany. 1862.
Editorial: Hoffmann'sche Verlags-Buchhandlung.

Original chromolithography included in "Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen in naturgetreuen Abbildungen mit kurz erläuterndem Texte: Atlas zur Pharmacopoea germanica (Atlas zur Pharmacopoea germanica, austriaca, belgica, danica, helvetica, hungarica, rossica, suecica, Neerlandica, British pharmacopoeia, zum Codex medicamentarius, sowie zur Pharmacopoeia of the United States of America)."
Author: Hermann Adolph Köhler and Gustav Pabst.
Germany, 1883.
Editorial: Gera-Untermhaus, Verlag von Fr. Eugen Kohler.

The four volumes series was a remarkable accomplishment that included medicinal plants from many European countries and some Latin American as well. The main characteristic of this publication was its almost 300 illustrations drawn by artists L.Müller & C-F- Schmidt, skilfylly printed on chromolithography by K.Gunther.
It has been described as the most fine and useful illustration series of medicinal plants, from the botanic point of view.

Original chromolithography included in "Naturgeschichte des Pflanzenreichs".
Author: Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert.
Esslingen, Germany. 1887.
Editorial: Schreiber.

Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert (1780-1860) was a german doctor, botanical and naturalist. Schubert aimed to create a religiously-grounded interpretation of the cosmos. His masterpice "Symbolism of Dreams" (1814) was one of the most famous books of its time, exercising influence over E. T. A. Hoffmann, and later on, Sigmund Freud and C. G. Jung.
Schubert advocated an ecumenical "awakened Christianity" which found evidence for God both in Nature and in the human soul.

Hand-colored engraving included in unknown publication.
Unknown Author.
Germany, 1891.
Unknown Editorial.

Original hand-colored engraving included in the publication ""Flore Medicale".
Author: Jean Francis Turpin.
Paris, France. 1894.
Unknown Editorial.

Jean Francois Turpin (1775-1819) was considered one of the most important French botany artists of the Napoleonic era.
The illustrations in this book were accompanied by the medical text to apply the treatment of each medicinal plant.
In 1794 Turpin moved to Haiti as a member of the French Navy; meeting botanist Pierre A. Poiteau (1766-1854), with whom he would work. Through Poiteau, Turpin learns Botany, and in turn creates many botanical illustrations that would be the basis for further studies on the return of the two wise men to France. In relation to their work in Haiti, they were able to describe about 800 botanical species.