STrUCTioN - Taschen

February 2013
May 2013
Albertus Seba’s curious creatures
A most unusual collection of natural specimens
Albertus Seba’s Cabinet of Natural Curiosities is one of the 18th century’s greatest
natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history
books of all time. Though scientists of his era often collected natural specimens for
research purposes, Amsterdam-based pharmacist Albertus Seba was unrivaled in his
passion. His amazing collection of animals, plants and insects from all around the
world gained international fame during his lifetime. In 1731, after decades of collecting,
Seba commissioned illustrations of every specimen and arranged the publication
of a four-volume catalog–from strange and exotic plants to snakes, frogs, crocodiles,
shellfish, corals, birds, and butterflies, as well as fantastic beasts, such as a hydra and
a dragon.
Seba’s scenic illustrations, often mixing plants and animals in a single plate, were
unusual even for the time. The more peculiar creatures from the collection–some of
them now extinct–were as curious in Seba’s day as they are today.
This reproduction is taken from a rare, hand-colored original. The introduction
supplies background information about the fascinating tradition to which Seba’s
curiosities belonged.
Back in Print!
Albertus Seba.
Cabinet of Natural Curiosities
Hardcover, 9.4 x 13.1 in., 416 pp.
978-3-8365-1583-2
$ 39.99 / CAD 49.99
Trees of paradise
All known genera of the palm family in 240 exquisite illustrations
On 15 December 1868, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, Professor of Botany at the
University of Munich and director of the Royal Botanic Garden, was carried to his
grave in a coffin covered with fresh palm leaves. These were a reference to his groundbreaking
Historia naturalis palmarum: opus tripartitum (Natural History of Palms: a
work in three volumes), published between 1823–1853. At the time, this encyclopedic
treasury contained the sum of human knowledge on the topic, and included 240
exquisite chromolithographic illustrations, including landscape views of palm habitats
and botanical dissections.
This epic folio was based on Martius’s expedition to Brazil and Peru with zoologist
Johann Baptist von Spix, sponsored by King Maximilian I of Bavaria, to investigate
natural history and tribal Indians. From 1817 to 1820 the pair travelled over 2,250 km
(1,400 miles) throughout the Amazon Basin, the most species-rich palm region in the
world, collecting and sketching specimens. On their return both men were awarded
knighthoods and lifetime pensions.
In his epic work, Martius outlined the modern classification of palm, produced the
first maps of palm biogeography, described all the palms of Brazil, and collated the
sum of all known genera of the palm family. For apart from his own collection of specimens
and notes, Martius also wrote about the findings of others. Martius’s folio is
unusual in its inclusion of cross-sectioned diagrams, conveying the architecture of
these mighty trees, which central Europeans would have found hard to imagine accurately.
Equally remarkable are the color landscapes showing various palms – often
standing alone – which have a simple and elegant beauty. This famous work is an
unrivaled landmark in botanic illustration and taxonomy.
Back in Print!
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius.
The Book of Palms
Hardcover, 12.3 x 17.1 in., 442 pp.
978-3-8365-1779-9
$ 150 / CAD 170
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Format
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