1921J 



NOTES. 



59 



have been hardly possible in composing it to make much use of a book 

 printed in the previous year. The wide circulation and the celebrity of 

 the later Latin Hortus and its successors, has tended to obscure the pe- 

 culiar and unique position occupied by this fine folio, the publication of 

 which forms an important land-mark in the history of botanical illustra- 

 tions, and marks perhaps, the greatest single step ever made in that art. 

 It was not only unsurpassed, but unequalled for nearly half a century." 



From the preface it would appear that the originator of the w r ork 

 was a rich man who had travelled extensively in the East, partly for the 

 purpose of studying botany and bringing home drawings of plants, and 

 that under his direction the medical portion was compiled by a learned 

 physician, probably Dr. Johann von Cube, who was town physician of 

 Frankfurt at the end of the 15th century. 



"On the second page of the preface occur these words: Und nennen 

 diss buch zu Latin Ortus Sanitatis; uff teutsch ein gart der gesuntheit. 

 ('Call this book in Latin Ortus Sanitatis; in German, a garden of health'.) 

 The colophon, in red states "Disser Ilerbarius ist czu || mencz gedruct 

 und geen 1 1 det uff dem xxviii dage des mercz. Anno M.cccclxxxv. 



"It is to be noted that though the name Ortus Sanitatis is given in 



the preface, this was never used as the actual title of the German work, 



which is always called in the colophon (where one exists) Herbarius, 



while later editions (Augsburg 1488, 1493, 1496, 1499, etc.) have as a 



title on the first leaf the words Herbarius zu teutsch. Moreover, in two 



copies which I have seen with old binding, this is lettered on the outside 



Herbarius. It is therefore, more correctly called The German Herbarius, 



not Ortus Sanitatis." 



The copy in the possession of the Arboretum is in old binding, and is 



lettered "Lib Herb." Mrs. Sears has another copy of this book, in which 

 the plates have been colored, apparently at a much later date, and the 

 only other copy known to be in this country is in the Surgeon-General's 



Library at Washington. 



In the Arboretum Library there are now in addition to Mrs. Sear's 

 recent gift, copies of the following editions of the Ortus Sanitatis: 



Mainz, Meydenbach. 1491. Haiti 8944. 

 [Strassburg, Priiss. c. 1497.] Hain 8941. 

 [Strassburg, Priiss. c. 1496.] Hain 8942. 

 [Colophon: — ] Venetiis, Benalius ct Cereto de Tridino. 



1511. 

 [Strassburg, Peck.) 1517. 

 The Arboretum has recently obtained in London a copy of the work 



entitled: 



Collection de cent Especes ou Vari£ti£s du genre Camellia peintes 



d'apres nature, soigneusement lithographiees et coloriees par Mlle. G. 



Fontaine, Pruxelles, Chez A. Mertens, Libraire Editeur. 1845. 



