Botanica Magnifica features two hundred and fifty stunning photographs by HasselbladLaureate Award winner Jonathan Singer, representingGÇöin the words of an ARTnewscriticGÇörare or exotic plants and flowers GÇ£in large scale and exquisite detail, emergingfrom the shadows in a manner evocative of Old Master paintings.GÇ¥ The original edition of Botanica Magnifica, consisting of five lavishly hand-boundvolumes, was limited to just ten copies, the first of which was recently donated to theSmithsonian Institution. The extra-large GÇ£double-elephantGÇ¥ format of that editionwas chosen in homage to the famous double-elephant folio of The Birds of America,and indeed, Botanica Magnifica is one of the few works of natural history ever to rivalAudubonGÇÖs magnum opus in its scope and artistry. In praise of the double-elephant folioof Botanica Magnifica, the SmithsonianGÇÖs Chairman of Botany attested, GÇ£Everyone whohas seen the photographs . . . has been tremendously impressed with the power, scale,and depth of the work.GÇ¥ Now SingerGÇÖs remarkable images are available to the public for the first time in thisbaby-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica. Like the larger edition, this volume is organizedinto five alphabetically arranged sections, each introduced by a gatefold page thatdisplays one extraordinary plant at a luxurious size. Each pictured plant is accompaniedby a clear and accessible description of its botany, geography, folklore, history, and conservation. This volume is also available in a leatherbound, slipcased edition. With its marvelousreproductions and fascinating text, the baby-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica isone of the most impressive volumes of natural history ever published.

This could well be the most famous botanical record ever committed to paper. A magnificent pictorial document of the flowers grown in the greatest German garden of its time. The Hortus Eystettensis is in a class of its own when it comes to the variety and range of flowers engraved. Under the supervision of Basilius Besler, a team of at least ten engravers worked on this massive project, translating in situ and specimen drawings faithfully to copper plates. Nearly four hundred years old, the book survived where the gardens did not. They were destroyed by invading Swedish troops in 1634. However in 1998 a reconstruction of the original garden opened to the public in Eichstatt. At two thirds the size of the original, this is a great book in every sense, and the first in a new series of facsimile reprints of the great books of human thought and accomplishment. Its reproductions are taken from a hand-painted edition, one of only a few still extant. In auction, the asking price for a first edition copy is half a million dollars. You can now enjoy its unique qualities for somewhat less.