Catesby: Cornus folius Salicis Laureae acuminatis; floribus albis; fructu Sassafras. An Phaseolus minor lactescens flore purpeo. ..
Cornus folius Salicis Laureae acuminatis; floribus albis; fructu Sassafras.
An Phaseolus minor lactescens flore purpeo. Orbis Loevis variegatus.
Light, pleasant age toning not visible on this photograph.
Page size: 49 x 32.5 cm ( 23.2 x 12.7 ").
Mark Catesby
Mark Catesby, ( 1682 - 1749 ) was born in England. His first extended journey to the Southeast of the United States of North America took place between 1712 and 1719. He was an artist with a sharp observing eye and began to depict animals, birds, reptiles, insects and plants which he later published in London as Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. This illustrative and zoologically and biologically exact work was the first important rendering in this field. It was then as much admired as it is in our time. After returning to England he won important and well to do people as sponsors for his work. He returned to America in 1722 and onward to Bermuda in 1725. He collected specimen of plants and animals and sketched what he saw. He learned the craft of engraving and made copper etchings for his publication. He began publishing his significant Natural History in 1731, thus becoming the first to publish a serious, scientific rendering of American flora and fauna. Catesby finished the mentioned publication in 1747, two years before he died.
Our copper etchings, all in original hand coloring, are as decorative as they are scientific. Their folio size adds to the pleasure viewing them. Our plates stem from the 1754 edition. They are generally clean and well preserved. Any faults are individually mentioned.
A German edition of Mark Catesby's birds along with the birds of George Edwards was published by Johann Michael Seligman between 1749 and 1776 in Nuremberg. We do have some prints of this edition and show them here.
Page size: ca. 33 x 49 cm (12.9 x 19.2") with horizontal images.
Some variation in page sizes. Some natural light age toning.
Cornus is a genus of about 30–60 speciesof woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrubs, but a few species are nearly herbaceous perennial subshrubs, and a few of the woody species are evergreen. Several species have small heads of inconspicuous flowers surrounded by an involucre of large, typically white petal-like bracts, while others have more open clusters of petal-bearing flowers. The various species of dogwood are native throughout much of temperate and boreal Eurasia and North America, with China, Japan, and the southeastern United States being particularly rich in native species.
