Pl. 9 Malva crispa. Hortus Floridus.

Utrecht:: de Passe, Crispjin van,, 1614.. First edition. Fine. A scarce original hand-colored copperplate engraving from the First Edition of Hortus Floridus. Printed on wove stock with embellished initial capitols and text in Latin on the verso. Oblong folio (10.75 x 7.5 inches, plate mark 8.25 x 5 inches). Matted in Ivory Rag to 18.5 x 16 inches). Crispijn (Van) de Passe, The Younger (Cologne 1594- 1670) produced his charming work Hortus Floridus as a young engraver of flowering plants between 1614-16: the height of the Dutch Golden Age- forever after known as the Tulipmania Period.  Crispijn was born into a long line of talented Dutch engravers and learned to master the challenging skill of engraving with a needle-like instrument called the burin. His technical virtuosity was enlivened by his youthful, whimsical spirit as displayed in his engaging compositions of flowering plants and landscapes teeming with insects, birds and small animals as well as allegorical and mythologic themes. This charming work served to inspire a vast array of noted botanical illustrators and painters such as Sir John Hill, DeBry, Basilius Besler, Emanuel Sweert and Sydney Parkinson well into the eighteenth century. (Blunt)Every print is digitally watermarked for web display purposes only. The actual print is unaltered, and sold in original condition. This print is presented in our elegant and traditional matting style; Ivory Rag mat with gold French line, suitable for framing. Matted in Rag Board