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Cornucopia of Fruit & Vegetables

Illustrations from an Eighteenth-century Botanical Treasury

Caroline Ball

Description

We're used to seeing close-up photographs of beautiful fruits and vegetables in cookbooks and garden guides. But these detailed illustrations of fruit and vegetables, as viewed through eighteenth-century eyes, are something very different – and more interesting.

In the 1730s, a prosperous Bavarian apothecary, Johann Wilhelm Weinmann, produced the first volume of a comprehensive index of all available plants, meticulously documented and lavishly illustrated by botanical artists. A Cornucopia of Fruit & Vegetables is a glimpse into Weinmann's world. It features exquisite illustrations of the edible plants in his historic treasury, allowing us to enjoy the sight of swan-necked gourds and horned lemons, smile at silkworms hovering over mulberries, and delight at the quirkiness of plants like 'strawberry spinach.'

This volume is a delicious medley of garden produce and exotics that will capture the imagination of gardeners and art-lovers alike.