Description
Description of Timothy Sheldrake's Botanicum Medicinale
These charming engravings are from the work entitled Botanicum Medicinale: An Herbal of Medicinal Plants on the College of Physicians. They were engraved by C. H. Hemmerich and James Basire based on drawings by Timothy Sheldrake and published in 1759. Each plate features a detailed, hand-colored portrayal of a medicinal plant with its flowers and fruit all bordered by an oval frame. Surrounding this quaintly framed illustration are the Arabic, Greek, Latin, Italian, German, French, Spanish, and/or Dutch names; the part of the plant used in medicinal purposes; how it is prepared; where it grows; and its season of bloom. Below the oval is a short description of the plant. While the illustrations include the dissection of the various flowers parts, they are not stale scientific drawings. On the contrary, these engravings, with their fanciful text and elegant descriptions can be classified as botanical art as easily as a reference work on medicinal plants. They are on fine, chain-linked paper that measures ~11" by 18".