farfel_n02_142_120

409 of the 530 botanical cuts were based on the cuts of Schonsperger's
smaller format editions of the Gart , The remainder being specially
commissioned for this ed.
A herbal has been defined as a book containing the names & descriptions
of herbs , or of plants in general , - their properties & virtues.
The word is believed to have been derived from a mediaeval Latin
adjective "herbalis" the substantive "liber" being understood. It
thus simply means "herb book".
As time went on, The herbal , - its characteristic mixture of
medical & botanical lore , gave way before the exclusively
medical pharmacopoeia on the one hand , & the excusively
botanical flora on the other.
W. L.
Schreiber
The 106 figures of the section Aquatic Animals which are
copied from an early illustrated manuscript & represent
the most fantastic creatures are interesting.
An early
English
version of
Hortus Sanitalus
Ref Z241,3
H82
1521
A number of the fishes described defy association - either
fact or fable. In this as in most early accounts of the fishes,
medieval theory is encountered that creatures on land had
their aquatic counterparts . Our modern names , Sea Lion,
Sea Mouse, Dog Fish etc are survivals.
Operacion - comparatively small number in section on fishes
The book is a vast compilation, a stupendous effort to
collate biological knowledge & medical science extant in the
15th C. From its unknown compilers , apart from
infrequesnt editorial notes , there is original information.
the work mainly comprises quotations & often distortions
from numerous earlier authorities , some dating back to
the dawn of recorded history.
- perhaps the most important medical book printed before 1500.
Meydenbach is believed to have been a son of the man who
cut the letters for the Psalter of 1457. Issued only 7 recorded
books in all. (1491, 2 & 5 - 4 undated)
HEHL rubricated in red & blue. Ca cccxxix - de herbis
De Discibus Paritaris woodcuts similiar to Schonsberger volumes
I (aaj) - cvi (eeii) my leaf aa5 (of 6)
Calxxvii - mangnes. (cut similar to mine) \ before Ca XVI cancer (crab)
each tractatus has large woodcut at beginning. \ after CaXIX cetus