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BAUHIN, J. Historia novi et admirabilis fontis balneique Bollensis in Ducatu Wirtembergico ad acidulas Goepingenses... Adijciuntur plurimae figurae novae variorum fossilium, stirpium, & insectorum, quae in & circa hunc fontem reperiuntur. Montbéliard, (J. Foillet), 1598. 4 parts in one volume, 4to (197 x 150 mm). pp. (42), 291, (1 blank); pp. (8, last blank), 222, with large portrait of J. Bauhin on verso of title and 210 woodcut illustrations of fossils, fruit, insects, etc. Contemporary (or slightly later) vellum.

(USD $ 19,550)    EUR 13.000

A very rare, most probably early issue with the portrait of J. Bauhin on verso of the title. This beautiful renaissance portrait shows the author with a plant in his right hand and his left hand on a skull. This portrait is not mentioned in any of the bibliographies we consulted. The copies we have sold or seen in the past did not have the portrait either. The only copy to have the portrait was the copy of the Alfred Schmid (Bern) collection which was auctioned at Reiss & Auvermann in 1983. The portrait has the dates 1541 and 1597, the first date being the date of birth and the other one the date of the portrait. The present copy does not have the 'Paralipomena' a 4 leaves (of which the last leaf is blank) supplement on fungi, which is most likely never present in this early issue with the portrait. First edition of one of the first illustrated books on fossils and minerals, preceded only by Gesner's 'De rerum fossilium' (1565), and also containing an important early record of cultivated fruit, with a series of important fruit illustrations. The work is a study of the petrifying springs of Bad Boll near Groppingen, Württemberg. 'This was the most detailed work on the subject written in the sixteenth century, and contains a lengthy appendix that gives an intimation of Bauhin's abilities as a naturalist. It consists of a series of illustrations, most of fossil collections, that was probably inspired by Gesner's 'De rerum fossilium' (1565). The most original were the illustrations of sixty varieties of apples and thirthy-nine of pears, all collected in the alpine region. These large and distinctive woodcuts show the value of illustration for depicting fine morphological distinctions' (DSB). This work also contains the first detailed study of cultivated fruit. Bauhin (1541-1613) was physician to Duke Frederick of Württemberg. 'Christoph I, the duke's grandfather, had collected and planted 374 fruit cultivars. To better display the apples in the duke's pleasure garden, Bauhin introduced 'super dwarf' apples, which he called 'Male Francerina Ionina'. He used the strongly dwarfing 'Paradise' crab as interstem, adding to the dwarfing effect by grafting on quince. In his 'Historia novi...' Bauhin extols the pleasant surroundings and healing waters of Bad Boll, a spa in the lands of Duke Frederick I, his patron. He closes Part 4 with the description and life-size woodcuts of 60 appels, 33 pears, and numerous cultivars of other fruits, nuts, and tropical dainties' (Janson, Pomona's harvest p. 82). Nissen BBI, 100, Durling 495; Ward & Carozzi 142 & 143; Wellcome 763.
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