New Acquisition: De plantis exoticis libri duo

Prosper Alpini (23 November 1553 to 6 February 1617) was a Venetian physician and botanist born in the town of Marostica.  In his youth prior to his medical training, Alpini served in the Milanese army.  At the conclusion of his army service, Alpini embarked on a journey of medical practice and a keen, intricate study of flora.  His service as physician to Venetian consul and other prominent officials fell second in his interests to botany.  Sustained by a fervent curiosity in botany, Alpini sought the experience necessary to hone his practical knowledge of exotic plants.  Shortly after receiving his doctorate of medicine, he relocated to Egypt.  His early botanical discoveries include the sexual difference in plants observed through his work with date palms, of which later influenced the Linnaean taxonomy system (Wikipedia, 2020).

His evolving understanding of botany and flora, combined with his comprehensive medical training rendered him highly attractive as a physician; his knowledge of medicinal plants in the treatment of malaise was remarkable.  Alpini returned to Padua in 1593.  While he remained a physician, Alpini served in several conspicuous positions pertaining to botanical interests, the first of which was professor of botany.  In 1603, he succeeded Giacomo Antonio Cortuso as director of the Botanical Gardens of Padua following Cortuso’s death (Wikipedia, 2020).

Alpini’s descriptions and illustrations collected here are based on and drawn from live specimens of the plants grown in the Botanical Garden at Padua, where he was professor of botany, from seeds sent to him by correspondents (Bartlett, 25). ‘Significantly, in these works [Alpini] did not limit himself to a discussion of the botanical and pharmacological aspects of the species under consideration, but included reflections of an ethnological and archaeological nature that testify to his acute powers of observation and wide-ranging curiosity’ (Tomasi & Willis, pp.95-6).

Alpini’s study of botany was reflected marvelously in the publication of numerous notable works.  University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) recently acquired a first edition (1627) of De plantis exoticis libri duo, a posthumous publication.  Explored in travels with Onorio Belli, Alpini’s novel description of Cretan flora largely comprises the plants documented in De plantis exoticis libri duo.  Alpini’s son, Alpino, later added additional documentation of flora from varying locales.  In total, 145 plants were described within the work, each accompanied by a copperplate engraving.  The later identification by A. Baldacci and P.A. Saccardo of seventy-one of the eighty-five Cretan flora described by Alpini validated the groundbreaking work.

Alpini’s works are known to have been used and referenced by Carl Linnaeus. The status of this work in particular as one of the earliest authorities on exotic species is borne out by the provenance of this volume; the ownership inscription at the foot of the title page is that of Dutch botanist Johannes Snippendaal (1616-70), keeper of the Hortus Medicus in Amsterdam in the second half of the seventeenth century, and himself the author of the first catalogue of species in the Hortus in 1646 (Pritzel, 9730). Further provenance: Ex libris of J.B. Holzinger on front paste-down, Josef Bonaventura Holzinger (1835-1912), lawyer and botanist. One instance of marginal annotation in pencil (p.105). Purchased from Maggs Bros., London, in February 2019.

Title within engraved border with figures of Greek naturalists Theophrastus and Dioscorides, and medallions above and below. 145 etched and engraved plates of exotic plants (unsigned). Woodcut initials, and woodcut and typographic ornaments throughout. 4to (210 x 150mm). [16], 344pp. Vellum over pasteboard, shelf number inked at foot of spine, faint inked title at head (worming to upper board). Venice, Giovanni Guerilio, 1627.

De plantis exoticis libri duo may be located in the SCUA collection for use. See: https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/hnf7s8/CP71297208280001451

Sources

Wikipedia. (2020, August 13). Prospero Alpini. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prospero_Alpini

Written by Alexandra Mueller, Special Projects Archivist