Matthias De L’obel: *icones Stirpium Seu Plantarum Tam Exoticarum Quam Indigenarum*, 1591 Edition

Matthias de l’OBEL (1538–1616)
. “Icones Stirpium Seu Plantarum Tam Exoticarum Quam Indigenarum”
Antwerp, Vve Plantin and Joannes Moretus,1591.
(Second edition, which differs from that of1581 only in the addition, at the end of the work, of indexes in various languages, includingFrench)
(19th-century cardboard binding)
ComprisingPart One of 816 pages and Part Two of 280 pages
(Note:Pages 309/312 are reversed after 313/316
And a small tear at the top corner of the last leaf ofPart One)
(Additionof a handwritten title page announcing the second part)
Atthe end of the volume, a Latin index followed by a French index
(Missing: Title page and introductory pages; indexesBelgian German and English—footnote at the end of the French index)
Format:oblong quarto: approximately 21.5 x 17.5 cm
Later annotationsin the margins of the engravings, indicating the common name of the plantdepicted – A few scattered stains. Plates in fine overall condition

- €980 -

Matthias de l’Obel was born in Lillein 1538. He studied medicine in Montpellier and was a highly regarded student of thegreat French naturalist Guillaume Rondelet. In 1559, he went to Englandwhere he spent the rest of his life.
With the help of a young French physician,Pierre Pena, he developed a system for classifying plantsbased on leaf shape, which marked a decisive step forward in the history ofbotanical classification. He presented the results of this work in abook that did not achieve the expected success. With the intention of helpingde l’Obel, Christophe Plantin purchased 800 copies for 1,200 florins, which heresold in 1576 in quarto format, adding a few supplements andchanging the title to *Plantarum Stirpiumhistoria*.
According to the custom of the time, theillustrations were frequently reused from one work to another. Theybelonged to the printer and not to the author. Thus, for the three authorsdiscussed here—Dodoens, del’Écluse, and de l’Obel—all three published by Plantin, it is sometimes difficultto determine for which author a particular illustration was created.
The *Plantarum seu Stirpiumicones* of 1581 is a collection of 2,176 engravings. Of a quitedistinctive format—in quarto and oblong—it was produced using woodcutsfrom Christophe Plantin’s collection. It is estimated that there are approximately 3,000plant drawings created by Peeter vander Borcht andengraved by the team of engravers at the Plantin press.
Displaying extraordinary finesse forwoodcuts, these are grouped according to deObel’s classification. The close collaboration between the botanist, the artist, and the printerresulted in a completely new style of presentation and clear,precise illustrations.
From that point on, Plantinbecame the printer of all herbariums and botanical works in the Netherlands.

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