Mandrake. Image courtesy of M. Moleiro Editor, S.A., all rights reserved
The new facsimile reproduction has been published by Spanish publisher Moleiro Editorial whose specialty is the reproduction of codices, maps and works of art made on parchment, vellum, paper and papyrus between the 8th and 16th centuries.
The reproduction of Tractatus de Herbis features 218 illuminated pages and is bound in embossed dark green leather. It is an exact replica of the original and is accompanied by a volume of commentary written by Alain Touwaide, Smithsonian scholar and co-founder of the Institute for the Preservation of Medical Traditions.
Institute co-founder, Emanuela Appetiti, explains the significance of this historic work:
The manuscript Sloane 4016 is a large album of botany made sometime around 1440 in Italy. Although it is traditionally identified as a copy of the well-known Tractatus de herbis (Treatise on medicinal plants), it does not contain the text of this treatise, but only its illustrations. The major question posed by this manuscript is why it abandoned the text of the Tractatus, giving birth to the new genre of the botanical album. Significantly enough, the captions of the illustrations provide the names of the plants in the different languages used in the 15th century, all written with the Latin alphabet, however. They hint at the function of the botanical album as an international work that could be used by all the different linguistic groups, whereas the text of the Tractatus could be used only by those who understood Latin. In this view, the development of the botanical album is an unsuspected very modern phenomenon that sheds a completely new light on the history of botanical illustration and highlights a process of internationalization and, at the same time, of linguistic specialization coupled with a principle of economy that had not been uncovered so far.
Alain Touwaide explains more about the history of botanical albums in the description of the Tractatus de herbis, codex Sloan 4016 viewable on the publisher’s website.
Also available for viewing are 18 images showing the contents of this album. After reading Alain’s description, click on one of the images above his text. This will take you to a page where you can view all sample images.
Only 987 copies of this historic album are available for purchase worldwide. Alain’s commentary has been published in separate editions available in English, Spanish and French. To inquire about purchasing this limited edition reproduction at a special discounted price, contact the publisher.
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