The Magnificent Flora Graeca: How the Mediterranean Came to the English Garden

The publishing of the Flora Graeca was a landmark event in 1830. Only 25 copies were published, due to the book’s size of 10 double folio volumes and its numerous illustrations, and it cost over £620, a colossal sum at the time. The Flora Graeca brought together beautiful renderings of the fruits of the travels of British scientist John Sibthorp, who made multiple trips to the eastern Mediterranean in the early nineteenth century to collect a rich array of exotic floral specimens. Now The Magnificent Flora Graeca chronicles Sibthorp’s immense undertaking, including brilliant selections from his groundbreaking volume.

          The story of the expeditions of Sibthorp and his renowned illustrator Ferdinand Bauer is a tale replete with larger-than-life characters and adventures on land and sea. Harris profiles the lives of Sibthorp, Bauer, and other leading characters, and explores the Flora Graeca’s rich cultural and scientific legacy. Sibthorp’s pioneering adventures unearthed floral specimens previously unknown to science, as he collected the originals of such popular garden flowers as the Crocus flavus ssp. flavus, the parent of the Golden Yellow; and Cyprus’s Cyclamen persicum, the parent of the widely grown garden cyclamens species.

          This new volume, drawn from photographs of Sibthorp’s remarkably well-preserved specimens and luminous reproductions of the original watercolors and engravings by Bauer, features more images from the Flora Graeca than have ever been published since its first printing.

          A fascinating treasure of floral wonders, The Magnificent Flora Graeca is an essential addition to the bookshelf for the plant lover or anyone curious about the natural history behind their beloved garden retreats. (09/01/2007)

Reader Reviews
This astonishingly beautiful book covers little known facts of John Sibthroup eighteenth century botanical expedition to the Greek Island and Ottoman Empire. The book is lavishly illustrated in full-page color of the expedition artist Ferdinand Bauer. But of most interest are the black and white field sketches with Bauer's color chart coding and the herbarium specimens shown juxtaposed to the final painting. The first 97 pages give important information on Sibthroup, his preparation for the expedition and selected excerpts of the expedition its self. Page 99 to 125 discusses in detail Bauer. It speaks of his techniques, conditions in which he worked, and plight while under the employment of Sibthroup. I enthusiastically recommend this book. It is an essential book for botanical artists/illustrator and history buffs. Comment | Permalink | (Report this)


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